Yesterday's visit to the Breast Surgeon was tiring. The drive seems to take forever. Dr. Talbert was wonderful! She was, of course, very professional, attentive and spent time to answer my questions. When she examined me, her touch was so gentle, I "felt" that I was in good hands.
She reviewed all of my options, legally, she has to tell me all of the options available to me, beginning with the option of lumpectomy because my cancer is so small. Right from the start, however, I told her that my choice was to have the bi-lateral mastectomy (double-mastectomy) because of my strong family history of breast cancer. Her following comments were unsettling.
She explained that because Medicaid had refused to remove the accompanying non-cancerous breast of breast cancer patients one year ago, all of the health insurance companies followed suit. PHOOEY!!!
"Even with my family's strong history, they wouldn't allow for the removal of the other breast?"
"No."
"But, I WANT it removed! I don't want to have to come back when I'm older and it would be more difficult to heal," I told her.
She said that that would be ok, but, I would have to pay for the "professional fee" of the removal of the non-cancerous breast. I told her that that is what we have to do for my mental and emotional well-being.
We then talked about reconstruction. The doctor who had been recommended to me is no longer affiliated with the hospital where my Oncologist and Breast Surgeon are affiliated. Dr. Talbert recommended another Plastic Surgeon and left the room to see when they might be able to co-ordinate the surgery. Upon returning moments later, she gave me the date of August 13th for the surgery. Something about that date rang a bell, but, I couldn't remember exactly why. It wasn't Triskaidekaphobia.
The nurse came to give me paperwork for pre-op labs and as Harry and I walked to the lab, I remembered the significance of August 13th. That was the day, in 1996, when I was rear-ended in Tucson and my car was totaled and I suffered three herniated disks. In my books, that was a LUCKY DAY!! Because I could have so easily been paralyzed, or even dead! Yeppir, August 13th is a day when Angels were looking out for me.
Suddenly, my cell phone rang. It was the plastic surgeon's office phoning to confirm appointment dates. I explained that I was in a hallway and would have to call her back to confirm the dates of July 15 for the initial consultation and July 22 for the pre-operative office visit.
At the Lab, I was given an EKG, blood was drawn and a chest X-ray was done. I loved that the hospital was so very organized and all three of these tests were completed in less than an hour!
This morning, I phoned the plastic surgeon's office to cement those appointments. Tina, the scheduler told me that I was lucky to be able to get in so soon to see this doctor, "I've NEVER seen anyone be able to get in this quickly. We're booking all the way in to September!" I told her that throughout this whole ordeal, I have been lucky, as the Oncologist said, "Your lucky stars are aligned in a strong way for you!"
Here's to my "lucky stars!"
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