Change is the Only Thing to Count on with Cancer

Remember that really optimistic post from the other day? Yeah, well that has all changed.

If there's one thing you can count on with a cancer diagnosis is that nothing is set in stone. Appointments pushed, information expected at an appointment not able to be shared, more testing needed, results that take longer to come back than normal, and the list goes on. My surgery date is about the only thing during this journey that happened the way we expected it to. 

My hopes to get the drains out this week have dwindled. The drainage levels haven't met requirements so it's looking like I'll potentially (key word) get them out at my follow up appointments on July 14. That's 20 days after my surgery. The literature says on average they can be taken out in 7-10 days. This has been very discouraging and pushed back my recovery timeline.

I also learned that although I'll still have my surgery follow up meetings next week, I won't be able to meet with my oncologist about any needed cancer treatment the following day as planned because it will be another 2 weeks before my oncotype test will be back. This test is key because its results will determine if I'll need chemotherapy or not. Meeting without knowing those results won't have value.

And in other super fun news: They found a spot on my liver that I get to have an MRI for! Health insurance still hasn't processed our claims so we have no idea if we'll owe $100 or $10,000. I have sharp pains in my arms and chest anytime I want to do literally anything - from getting out of a chair and taking the lid off a water bottle to getting dressed by myself and going to the restroom.

My motto all along is to see the positive side of things, and that's what I've presented to the world thus far. But this is a glimpse into the tough side. The constant fluctuations of unknowns. The realization that as much as I will my body to get better, expect prompt closure on diagnosis and treatment, or confirmation of what's truly next, is, in most cases, completely out of my control.