Less than a week now- yikes!

I can't believe my surgery date is quickly approaching!  Ray and I went to see the nurse at the breast surgeon's office yesterday to discuss the day of surgery and aftercare.  It sounds like it's going to be a pretty painful experience, but luckily I'll be given some good narcotics to keep me from feeling too much of it.

I also saw a physical therapist.  She did a special test to check the "flow" up and down my arm.  A flow of what, I'm not entirely sure, but it's important to have that information.  They'll be taking out 2-3 lymph nodes during surgery to biopsy, which disrupts the lymphatic system and can cause lymphedema.  With the results of the test she performed, they can detect lymphedema by testing the flow every 3 months to see if things have changed, catching it much sooner than when I'd have symptoms.   I'm hoping I don't ever get it, but it can show up as far as 5 years out from surgery.  The PT said that it's pretty much a crap shoot on who will get it so I'm glad that they are being proactive about it.  I really feel great about the care that I'm getting here.  Johns Hopkins is definitely on top of all the newest medical interventions,

I'll be having a whole team of surgeons working on me on Friday.  The breast surgeon will do the mastectomy, the plastic surgeon will place skin expanders to begin reconstruction and my gyn will go through my belly button and do a tubal (taking my fallopian tubes).  My breast cancer can grow with hormones, so I can no longer use birth control with hormones, so we've decided the best option is "tying my tubes".  Although I know we are done having children, I am pretty sad to be losing my fertility.  That chapter of my life will be closed for sure.  

There's definitely a lot more to this surgery than I anticipated, but I think as long as I'm prepared, I'll be okay.  I survived chemo, I can survive this.