And so the adventure begins

Monday, May 11, 2009
This is the e-mail I sent "to come out of the closet."

So...family and friends. I have some news.

I had an abnormal mammogram two weeks ago (no lump--just the routine annual deal) and I had a follow-up biopsy last Monday. The statistics were way in my favor--80-85% benign for microcalcifications.

However...the results of the biopsy are in...and as usual, a Poland is on the wrong side of a math equation. What can I say--we're word people.

Anyway, I do have signs of malignancy in my right breast--I guess it's time to say breast cancer.

On the good side, the first impression is that the cancer is at a very early stage. So--the adventure begins....I'll need more tests to figure out exactly what's going on and where.

Step #1--an MRI this week and then visits to a local surgeon and an oncologist. It looks like I'll also be headed to Johns Hopkins for a consultation at their breast cancer center. Then the decisions begin. I will certainly be having surgery, probably in early June, the extent of which is TBA. At the moment it looks like our previously planned trip in two weeks to see Matt in England will go forward--prior to the surgery.

Forgive the impersonal e-mail delivery, but I really can't picture walking up to people one by one and saying "Hey, guess what.....". The telling and retelling of crappy news is just exhausting. I'm actually considering setting up up a blog for those poor perverse few who want to keep up with this odyssey. I've always been a frustrated writer!

I appreciate everyone's support--I know I'll need you moving forward. Lisa