And the hits just keep on coming...

Once we returned from Alabama, I met with my nurse practitioner, Joan, who gave me the full report. She scheduled an appointment with the surgeon that their office recommended and I met with him later that afternoon. Dr. Hubbard is a man in his mid to late 60s. He's been in the industry for a very long time. He reminded me of a southern version of my grandfather. He explained things slowly and in layman's terms and sprinkled in a good dose of dry humor. I liked him immediately. He gave me an exam then went over treatment options and recommended an oncologist to see as well. He ordered an MRI, bone and CT scans for me to give a full picture of the cancer in my whole body - not just my breast. While there, we also discussed BRCA genetic testing to see if I carried the gene. He explained that if I did - I'd likely have to have my ovaries removed as well since the cancers are closely related. My girls and my sister, Jenny, would also be impacted by this news as their risks for both types of cancers would exponentially increase. Lovely.

Later that week, I had the MRI. The best part? It was like a massage table and I was face-down except it had boobie holes. Boobie holes!!! How awesome is that? I've had other MRIs but this one was almost comfortable! It took about 25 minutes and I was on my way.

Dr. Hubbard called early Monday evening to give me the results from the MRI. He said that he had consulted with the radiologist and they were both concerned about what they had seen. The tumor was actually 6cm and there were a couple of satellites off of it that were approximately 4cm. Total cancerous area was 10cm. This was over 3 times the size that they had originally believed via the mammogram and ultrasounds. He told me that because of the size of the main tumor alone, a lumpectomy was no longer an option and that I'd have to have a mastectomy. Even though I was leaning towards this decision anyway, it's a completely different beast to told that it's NOT, in fact, an option. I was in shock and the fact that each visit seemed to yield more serious results, was very concerning. It was official. My boob had some major funk and I wasn't feeling it.