new puppy & updates

On June 26, 2012 I took my son back to the ENT for  his follow up since his surgery. Everything went well and we don't have to return until October unless he has a problem. The only issue we spoke about is swimming. The updated medical information states "he doesn't have to cover his ears in the water". He did have some discomfort when he goes under the water when he is in a pool. The doctor suggested to wear ear plugs so we bought wax that you can mold inside the ear and that worked. The ENT said sometimes pool water bothers some peoples ears.

On June 28, 2012 we picked up our new baby boxer girl. She is adorable and loving. She flew on an airplane from Texas to CT. She has adjusted great to our family and home. She is now
9 1/2 weeks old. If you get the automatic emails please log onto my site for the photos to see her.
http://mbouvier.blogspot.com/ She is friendly to all visitors. She has been spoiled and received several toys from people visiting her! Her name is Bella Julia Bouvier. We took her to the vet last Saturday and she is healthy and received one shot. I will continue to add photos of her to my site.

On the same day June 28, 2012, I went to see my plastic surgeon in the evening for a follow up from my ultra sound. She examined all three of the bumps on my right breast and said they are called fat necrosis and at this time there is no concerns. She would like me to come back in three months so she can monitor the bumps. They haven't disappeared since I noticed them. She mentioned that she prefers not to remove them in a radiant breast unless I am having a problem. There are side effects that can happen if she needs to take out the area that is concerned. There would only be one incision to be made if needed if she had to remove all three areas. She would use an ultra-sound monitor to direct her to the area. She is concerned because the healing process takes longer since I had radiation and there is an high risk for infection afterwards. We will continue to monitor the bumps. They don't hurt me at this point. She took a few more photos to update my files. She didn't get a copy of my ultra-sound because sometimes the results go to her office in New York before getting transferred to CT. She will call me if there is  any concerns from the report.

My daughter is doing okay with her skin  due to sun sensitivity. We went away in May and on the 3rd day in the sun, she started to get the rash on her face, upper arms and the first time ever  on her thighs. We applied the prescription Cortisone  and kept her out of the sun the next day. She continues to wear a hat, sunglasses, and needs to reapply sun lotion several times especially when she is in the water. Her skin gets better after the Cortisone is applied and when she isn't in the sun for long periods of time. She had a rash a few weeks ago but was a mild case. She was at a soccer camp and got red mainly under her eyes. Luckily the camp was only half days. She tends to get worse when she is in the sun for several days in a row and for long period of time. Keep our fingers crossed so far this Summer her eyes haven't turned red.

I hope everybody is enjoying the Summer.

latest updates

Hello my readers: I haven't taken the time to post lately. I think about it but never take the time to write, sorry for the delay.
On June 11, 2012 I had my 3 month follow up for my ultra-sound on my right breast. I called on Thursday 6/7/12 and I was able get an appointment on Monday. This was great since my kids were getting out of school on 6/12/12. When I went for my appointment back in March, I had one lump and they confirmed it was fat necrosis. Now I have three lumps that I was concerned about and I needed all three to be examined. I discovered my third bump on Friday 6/8/12. I wasn't that scared since it felt like the other two bumps but deep down I am always concern when it comes to my health.
I wasn't thrilled with the ultrasound technician I had. She reminded me of a new student who wouldn't tell me anything because she was afraid to get in trouble. When I asked her if the lump was the same size as last time, so replied" I will get  all the readings and the radiation specialist will have to review the findings". She took awhile to exam all three areas. I am sure she didn't want to miss something but I felt like she was new to this job. I think  for my next appointment, I will request one of the other ladies. The original lump is located on the right side of my nipple. The 2nd lump is towards the inner side of breast and the 3rd lump is located towards the top of the breast.
She finished all the measurements of each lump and went to get the head nurse to come into the room. When the head nurse came into the room she asked me to show her where my three lump were and she quickly examined them with the transducer for the ultrasound machine. The nurse said a report will be written up and sent to all the doctors I requested to get a copy. She believed all three lumps were fat necrosis. There was no blood flowing through them which is a great sign. She mentioned that my original lump compared to now has changed a little in size but seemed okay. She requested that I follow up with my doctor and I returned back in 3 months for another ultrasound. I made an appointment to see my plastic surgeon on June 28,2012.
On June 13, 2012 my son had outpatient surgery to remove his adenoids and put tubes into both of his ears. The surgery went well. He is 12 so they inserted an IV in his hand before the surgery. He was drowsy coming out of  surgery from the anesthesia which is normal but he didn't like the feeling. He felt sore in his throat when he was in the recovery room probably from the tube which is inserted in throat to breath and the adenoids are removed through the throat as well. We arrived at 830 am and were able to go home by 11:45am. He had to take it easy for three days after. He didn't like being able to stay in the house. I don't know why its free time to watch TV and play video games all day! On Saturday June 16 he was able to go back to normal life with no restrictions. We have a follow up appointment with the ENT on June 26.
Hope everybody is enjoying your summer. I will post all the updates again next week. O' we are also getting a new boxer puppy and she should be here by the end of next week. The kids can't wait!!! I will also update everybody about my daughter in the next blog. Stay cool :>

Plastic surgeon visit

On Thursday March 29, 2012 I had my follow up visit with my plastic surgeon. She confirmed that my two lumps are called fat necrosis. She felt them and said  "she encounters these lumps on several patients after surgery". (even thou my last surgery was Nov 2010 my body changes) She explained that the radiation is still in my skin and in my right breast area and will be with me for my lifetime. She is 98% that this is what they are and feels there is no need for a biopsy. She would like me to have another ultrasound in 3 months and to see her after the exam. She wants to make sure they haven't changed. We will continue to monitor the lumps. I asked her what causes the lumps and she compared it to a severe bruise that gets a bump. She explained sometimes they disappear and then come back or they might just stay there. The lumps are below my skin and it is in the fat that was transferred from my stomach area from last surgery. Its a healing process for the fat and its good that there is no blood flowing inside it. If I happen to feel anymore lumps, she said its okay to wait for the ultrasound appointment.When patients gets these lumps, they are normally not removed.

She thought my breasts healed great and looks like real breasts not fake ones. She took a few more pictures for her records.  I will see her in June.

I tested the subscription link on my blog page and I received e-mails when I wrote a  blog and it seems to be working.When you hit the submit button another window will pop up for the feed burner and you will need to confirm the information.
Take Care and have a wonderful Easter Holiday.

It never ends!

Today I discovered another lump - wow - I guess I don't live a dull life. I had a discomfort towards the top of my right breast (same one) and I found another small lump. This one feels a bit smaller than the other one. I thought maybe the other lump moved but no a second lump has been discovered. I am  concern but didn't freak out since I have an appointment next week. I just don't want to go back into surgery again if I don't have too.

I decided to write my plastic surgeon an e-mail to let her know what is going on and she can review my medical records before I see her. She responded back to me via e-mail right away which was great and said the following:

no worries

fat necrosis is common especially in radiated breasts
feels like little beeds
sometimes they come and go
if it makes you feel better we can do small biopsy to have peace of mind but
see you next week

I will confirm what the lumps are when I see her next Thursday. I wonder what causes them?

Talk soon...

Appointments

Monday March 19, 2012
My son saw the ENT DR. for his 3rd follow up regarding his hearing. YES, he passed the hearing test and there was no fluid in his ears. I think the 2nd time on the Steroid helped him. The doctor wants him to stay on the nose spray once a day until Mothers Day. The audiologist  said he wasn't hearing a few high pitches but when she told him to push the button even if he thinks he hears the sound then he improved. She mentioned sometimes they will not push the button because they are afraid to get it wrong and in his case he was nervous that he would have to have surgery. YEA Great News!!!

I had a 10:15 appointment with my breast cancer surgeon but because of my son's appointment I was running late, I called the office to inform them & I was able to get to the office by 10:30. My doctor examined me and felt the lump. The lump was referred to fat necrosis. She confirmed the ultra-sound report. She said its a little different then scar tissue. She feels it could be trauma effect from my last surgery which was in November 2010 - 16 months ago. The report states its 9mm oval lesion in the right breast at 2 o'clock anterior depth 3 cm from the nipple.The ultra-sound report suggested that I have another ultra-sound in 3 months and probably benign finding. My cancer surgeon would like me to see her in 2 months to verify the lump isn't growing or change in shape. The other option she gave me was to have the lump biopsy. This would help ease my mind. She is wondering when my plastic surgeon inserted my fat tissue from my stomach into my breast from my last surgery, if this is the same area where I have the lump where the fat was inserted. She wants me to make an appointment with my plastic surgeon to get her opinion on it as well. If a biopsy will be performed, it will be done in my breast cancer surgeon office. She said it would take about 1/2 hour and she would numb the breast area. She would have to use the ultra-sound machine to help guide the needle into the lump to make sure the implant isn't damaged. She would use a small needle to take a sample piece out of the lump.

She had a copy of my blood work. All my numbers were great. My CA-125 ovarian cancer was a 16. normal is between 0-34. My CA-125/127 was a 22 normal under 38. I also had a complete blood count which the numbers were all great white blood count 8.2 & red blood count was 4.51. I was amazed with my cholesterol. My total was 155 triglycerides 136 HDL 50 and LDL 78. I joined the gym a month ago and haven't been eating complete healthy so I was shocked but real happy. My last cholesterol was 182 and time before that 174.We talked about cancelling my Oncologist appointment for next Monday since just reviewed my blood work and I am seeing my plastic surgeon next week. There is no need to see all three of them in two weeks.

I have an appointment on Thursday March 29 in the evening with my plastic surgeon. I cancelled my appointment with my Oncologist. I spoke with him via text and as long as we don't need to discuss the lump he said to have my blood work done in about 6 months and then see him. I will update my blog after I see my plastic surgeon. Have a great week :)

I was nervous and scared!

Last Friday March 16 , 2012 I couldn't believe what was happening. In the morning, I went to the gym and then grocery shopping so I didn't get in the shower until after lunch. As I was in the shower, I felt a lump in my right breast. I was shocked! I checked it several times and  I couldn't believe this was happening to me. The lump was on my right breast about 2" from my nipple which is the side I had all the trouble with from the beginning. It felt like a size of a pea and was hard. I quickly finished the shower and started to freak out. The first person I called was my plastic surgeon. The receptionist informed me she is on vacation but I can speak with another doctor if I wanted. No, I wanted my doctors! All I was thinking about is seeing a doctor because I couldn't go through the weekend knowing about this lump. I then called my cancer surgeon and the office was out to lunch. It was 12:45 PM and the answering service said "the office will be back at 1:30 PM". I then called my husband and I was upset and crying telling him he needs to come home. He tried to calm me down and he suggested to call my Oncologist and see if they have received my blood work back. It was good I did my routine blood work the day prior.
Unfortunately, we have heard some bad news with people dealing with cancer so I am sure that even scared me more. The entire situation was ironic. The same week I was changing my blogs background, updated my blog and even mentioned that everything was low key. I had a friend reply via e-mail to my last blog entry and said" I love how you say "low key".  ha! ha!". How can this be happening in my mind. I called my Oncologist and he was in a meeting. I spoke with a women in his office about my blood work but she wasn't helpful.

Wow all three of my doctors weren't available. In the mean time the phone rang and it was my mom. I didn't call her earlier because she was at the doctors and I know she wasn't feeling well. She was shock to hear about my news. At 1:30 I called my cancer surgeon back after their lunch (only 45 minutes but seemed like hours)! When I called the office, I  received their answering machine saying they are busy and to leave a message. Wow, can I run into any more obstacles!!! I called right back and left a message for the nurse to call me asap. I couldn't wait, I was very worked up at this point so I called the office back again and spoke with  receptionist who I know. Unfortunately the words she said threw a wrench into me again " the doctor wasn't in the office today, she's at the hospital doing surgeries". The receptionist was going to see if they can get a hold of my doctor at the hospital. Not even 15 minutes later the nurse called me back and said she was able to get me an appointment to have an ultra-sound at 2:30 PM. The time on any other day wouldn't of mattered but my kids had a half day of school today. My son just arrived at home when the nurse called me back and I was trying not to tell him what was happening. I called my husband at his work and he came home right away. We are lucky that he works close to home. Now my daughter was getting off the bus so I went to pick her up and then my husband was home. I jumped into the car and told my kids I had to go somewhere. They were questioning where since their dad was home in the middle of the day and I rushed out. I didn't want to scare them until I knew more information. My mom offered to drive with me to my ultra-sound but I just wanted to leave and get this test performed.

As I was driving there, I realized I haven't been to this office (Advanced Radiology for Women's Health Care) since my 2nd mammogram when I found out about my cancer. They took me inside right away. After I changed, I had to wait for about 5 minutes. I was thinking about how wonderful the nurses were in helping  me to get this process started. I first called the doctors at 12:45 PM and now its 2:45 PM and I am sitting in the doctors office. That's real impressive 2 hours later! The technician performed the ultra sound. She was asking me if I fell, a dog jumped on me or a traumatic event happened. The answers were no. After she was done, she told me to relax and she was going to go get the doctor. I was nervous at this point. The doctor performed the test again. She explained the lump was above my implant but below my skin. She asked me several questions including when I had my last surgery. She explained and showed me what she was looking at on the screen. The wonderful news she explained there was no blood flowing through it and it was a bright color. These were signs that it wasn't a tumor. She was not sure thou what exactly it was. She thought it was a fat substance but referred me to follow up with my cancer surgeon on Monday. I was relieved but also wondered how this developed. I left feeling much better going into the weekend. I called my husband and gave him the news. He was out with the kids at the store and I met them back home. I tried not to think about it through-out the weekend. I didn't get much sleep. I was restless and I think my subconscious mind was racing. My kids asked my husband where I went and he told them but left it generic. They didn't asked any other questions through out the weekend.
On Monday I had a 10:15 appointment with my cancer doctor.
This is getting long and I will continue the details about my Monday appointment in another blog. WOW life brings many changes instantly!!!

March update

Hello,
I went for my routine blood work  this morning. I knew it has been over 6 months but didn't realize its been 9 months. I have an appointment with my Oncologist on Monday March 26 so I am sure he will give me my results at that time.

I took my son to the ENT and his hearing has improved but not where the doctor would like him to be. He is just above the line for hearing and should be stronger, He was on a steroid again and nose spray morning and evening. We go back next week and I hope his hearing is back to normal if not then he will need surgery.

Everything else is low key not much happening. I will keep everybody posted. Talk soon :)