Home Again

Note from Bill:

Pam had surgery this morning around 8:30 that lasted for 30 minutes. The site was infected and the tissue expander/ temporary implant was removed during surgery. She is home now and resting (feeling better that the pressure and pain from the infection is gone). The surgical pain is less than the infection pain.

The expander can be put back in a few months (even potentially during chemo). This is not the optimal route but one that is often taken. For instance, UM's protocol is to do the reconstruction after the mastectomy (not during). So, this is a setback physically and emotionally. But, this is not a cancer issue which is the the positive news on which to focus. It also means that there is one less thing to worry about during chemo (no need to fill the expander now until they are both in place). There is always a worry about filling the expanders during chemo as again this is an infection risk.

This is also a reminder that during the next months we should be especially vigilant on optimizing Pam's recovery during chemo. This is also a time for lowered immunity. The urge to do too much when you feel better is hard to suppress. Plus Pam never sits down normally! (As I said, if this was me, I would be laying in bed helpless for weeks - typical lazy male response to any problem).

In terms of the different scenarios throughout this whole cancer process, it is the "best of the bad luck" options. We just pray that the infection is stopped and contained and we don't need to be managing this further.

The surgeon believes that the chemo can still start on time as well.