You have cancer.
Those words are some of the most crippling and throttling words a person and family can hear. I have lost loved ones to cancer. I have friends who are fighting and overcoming cancer. Never did I think this would be in my story or a page in my book. Much less as a 33 year old mom of two, to a 2yo and a 3mo old, and only 4 years into my loving marriage. But here we are, starting a journey we never expected.
In August, I noticed a hard spot on my left breast. Asher was due in just a few weeks, so I chalked this up to my milk preparing to come in and my ducts swelling. Asher was born the beginning of September and we started on our own breast feeding journey, which many of you know has highs and lows in and of itself. At 1 week old, Asher and I both tested positive for COVID and he was admitted to the PICU for 2-3 days of observation. With COVID impacting our family and adjusting to a new family of 4 with two kids 2yo and under, I forgot about the mass for awhile.
Fast forward to November where I noticed this hard lump was still there. I had my doctor look at this at a post partum follow up and she scheduled me for ultrasound and mammogram, both of which occurred on December 1st. The mammogram and ultrasound identified the mass was 11cm, from my chest wall to my nipple, and showed calcification. Initially the biopsy was to only be taken from one spot, but the doctor ended up taking 3 samples: 1 from each end of the mass due to its size, and one from the axillary lymph node, which also showed calcification. Blake and I tried to remain positive throughout all of this, however after the biopsy the doctor indicated he had never seen a mass over 7cm come back benign. We quickly realized the ‘c’ word was going to play a more significant part in our future.
Wednesday December 8th was the day I received my official diagnosis…Ductal Carcinoma In-Situ and Invasive Ductal Carcinoma Breast Cancer. What we know: 1) the type of cancer and that it is HER2+ and estrogen/progesterone negative (so it is not hormone based) 2) that the cancer has spread to axillary lymph nodes from the milk ducts (which is why it is is classified as IDC and not just DCIS and why we have not been given an accurate stage yet–but it is at least stage 2 since it has spread) 3) the cancer is considered grade 2 (which is good–not the most aggressive kind!)
What’s next? A lot….things are moving fast….and we are also hurrying up to wait. Waiting on more appointments. Waiting on more scans. Waiting on more clarification. Waiting. We are quickly learning that this will be one of the hardest parts of this journey.
I will have a chemo port put in on December 16th and are waiting for our first appointment with our oncologist. We have a tentative plan for treatment, but this will become more solidified once we meet with the oncologist. Our tentative treatment plan is to start intensive chemo therapy for 4-5 months, after the intensive chemo therapy, I will schedule my radical bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction, followed by continued chemo (for another 7-8 months) and radiation.
Chemo. Mastectomy. Reconstruction. Radiation. That is a lot to swallow as a 33yo wife and mother of 2 young kids. My family keeps saying I didn’t have to be this dramatic to get a boob job…what can I say? I guess I like to keep it interesting.
We have already felt incredible love and support from our families and close friends. What do we need? Prayers, good thoughts, and good vibes. We know God has a plan, even though right now we do not understand it and are scared about the unknown.
Thank you for taking the time to read up on our journey. We will try and keep everyone updated as we learn, navigate, and move through this season. And ladies….feel your boobs!
Love, Alysa & Blake
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer-Romans 12:12
A gofundme and meal train (links below) have been set up to help with the financial burden of upcoming treatments and to lessen the every day burdens of motherhood, parenting, and adulting. We are also going to be using some hashtags to follow this journey #pinkingofyou #AlysasArmy #byebyeboobies #tatafornow #dcis #breastcancer #fighter #idcbreastcancer
Alysa's Army 