Surgery Date; Lumpectomy vs. Masectomy

We received my surgery date this afternoon. The procedure will take place on Thursday, April 13th, 2006, at Baylor's day-surgery center. The time will be somewhere after 9:15, which is when we report to the radiology center to be injected with the dye that will assist in the sentinal node biopsy (in my understanding).

What is being done: Breast cancer treatment has come so far that we now have some choices about the form of treatment. Research has demonstrated the outcome is essentially the same between masectomy and chemo vs. lumpectomy, chemo, and radiation. We have chosen a lumpectomy. It is possible, if the doctor cannot clear the margins, that she may change course mid-stream, but we are not anticipating that to be the case.

The reason behind my choice... Though every person's choice is personal, the reason behind mine is not that profound. I was talking ordinary, day-to-day mom-talk with another Mom from my Bible class. We both have snugglers, and we laughed about having built in "pillows." (I never did have enough milk for my babies, so this was a positive use for something that had otherwise failed me...) Later on, I recalled our conversation and realized this was my answer: I would make a choice for my girls, hopefully having something left to snuggle with. Keep the pillows, haha! It will have to yet be seen if my reasoning follows through, but all things being equal, I had to make a choice. That was the best reason and motivation I could come up with. So, to the Mom with whom I was talking, if you are reading this: Thanks for the conversation and insight!!