4x4_Welder
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Twin Falls, ID
A bit of an odd topic, I know. Not one I ever put any thought into, most guys never think about it because breast cancer only happens to women, right? Well, this past year I found out otherwise. I found a lump in my chest, and after some convincing from my wife went and got it checked out. First to my general practitioner, then she referred me to a specialist who had some concerns over the lump, and ordered a biopsy. The biopsy sucked, I got stabbed up through the armpit by a very large needle that shot out and speared through the lump to remove chunks to examine. That was bad enough, but when my doctor called with the results I found out things were going to get worse. It turned out to be cancerous, invasive ductal carcinoma, the most common type of breast cancer.
The timing on this sucked. It was coming into the busiest season at work, and we got the results the same week we signed on a house. It took about three weeks to get my full range of motion back after the biopsy, but that was nothing compared to what was coming up. We met with the surgeon, and then the oncologist, and the best course of treatment was determined to be a mastectomy. Part of this surgery would be to biopsy the nearest lymph node, and test to see if the cancer had traveled.
I had my surgery the week before Christmas, and when I woke up my whole lymph node cluster in my armpit had been removed. Apparently the cancer had traveled a bit, and as a precaution they went further than originally was thought to be needed. Instead of just a cut on my chest, now I have one that goes all the way into my armpit. Beyond that I have a bunch of sutures inside my chest, and had a drain bottle sticking out of my side for the first week.
This has, of course, impacted my recovery somewhat. I wound up taking more time off work than I would have liked, and still have pretty limited strength and range of motion on the one side. I'm meeting with the oncologist again on Wednesday, to find out how bad it really was. That's the funny thing with this sort of cancer, they can't for sure say how bad it is until they cut it out and get a look at it.
I'll update this once there is more info, but until then I hope this helps people be more aware, and not ignore any potential problems.
I'm also running a GoFundMe campaign, to try and overcome some of the costs of missed work, and out of pocket expenses related to this. My health insurance has taken care of a good portion of this, but since this is the US I still have to pay some on top of that. Unfortunately I haven't been at my job long enough to get any kind of paid leave, either. The lost income wouldn't be such a big deal except that I'm the sole supporter for my family. My wife has problems with her ankles that she will be having surgery on later this month, but for the time being that keeps her from being able to work.
If you feel inclined to make a donation, the campaign can be found at: https://www.gofundme.com/2whn6r-can...47277017-590d5f2f9d5648df&pc=ot_co_campmgmt_w
The timing on this sucked. It was coming into the busiest season at work, and we got the results the same week we signed on a house. It took about three weeks to get my full range of motion back after the biopsy, but that was nothing compared to what was coming up. We met with the surgeon, and then the oncologist, and the best course of treatment was determined to be a mastectomy. Part of this surgery would be to biopsy the nearest lymph node, and test to see if the cancer had traveled.
I had my surgery the week before Christmas, and when I woke up my whole lymph node cluster in my armpit had been removed. Apparently the cancer had traveled a bit, and as a precaution they went further than originally was thought to be needed. Instead of just a cut on my chest, now I have one that goes all the way into my armpit. Beyond that I have a bunch of sutures inside my chest, and had a drain bottle sticking out of my side for the first week.
This has, of course, impacted my recovery somewhat. I wound up taking more time off work than I would have liked, and still have pretty limited strength and range of motion on the one side. I'm meeting with the oncologist again on Wednesday, to find out how bad it really was. That's the funny thing with this sort of cancer, they can't for sure say how bad it is until they cut it out and get a look at it.
I'll update this once there is more info, but until then I hope this helps people be more aware, and not ignore any potential problems.
I'm also running a GoFundMe campaign, to try and overcome some of the costs of missed work, and out of pocket expenses related to this. My health insurance has taken care of a good portion of this, but since this is the US I still have to pay some on top of that. Unfortunately I haven't been at my job long enough to get any kind of paid leave, either. The lost income wouldn't be such a big deal except that I'm the sole supporter for my family. My wife has problems with her ankles that she will be having surgery on later this month, but for the time being that keeps her from being able to work.
If you feel inclined to make a donation, the campaign can be found at: https://www.gofundme.com/2whn6r-can...47277017-590d5f2f9d5648df&pc=ot_co_campmgmt_w
