Liz first noticed the ropy, painful, burning lump in her breast at the tail end of January. Not having a primary care physician in Wisconsin, we scrambled to find someone to see Liz as quickly as possible. Liz scheduled a same-day appointment the day after the Superbowl (go Seahawks!) with a marvelous Nurse Practitioner. Julia Schumacher ordered a mammogram and ultrasound right away. Julia referred us to Aurora Sinai because she knew that the radiologist would be on site to read the results of both tests there and then. Unfortunately, what the radiologist, Dr. Madsen saw had him concerned. He was able to schedule Liz for a biopsy the very next day, but we wouldn't receive the initial diagnosis until the following Monday. For those of you keeping track at home, we went from "I think...maybe...I found lump?!" to cancer diagnosis in the span of 14 days.
Being the data-driven ladies we are, we immediately jumped in to research mode (while simultaneously trying not scare the pants off ourselves...hey, the internet can be a terrifying place). We were brimming with questions: "okay, what are all the diagnostic details, what does all that mean, what's next, what's our plan, what more do we need to know to kick cancer's ass?" On February 11, Dr. Judy Tjoe, breast cancer surgeon extraordinare & Monique, our amazing Cancer Nurse Navigator walked us through the pathology results:
Shortly afterwards, we began working with a fantastic oncologist, Dr. Flejsierowicz (better known as "Dr. Flej") at the Vince Lombardi Cancer Clinic, Aurora Sinai. The day after our rapidly-planned wedding in Minnesota, Liz started chemotherapy treatments on February 27 (Adriamycin/Cytoxan every three weeks for three months, then Taxol weekly for another three months). Surgery will be up next, some time in Autumn 2014. We feel incredibly fortunate to be joined on this journey by a brilliant, compassionate team of clinicians, all of whom are doing their best to keep Liz healthy and happy for decades to come.
Because we're determined to focus on something positive and transformative during Liz's treatment, we will be participating in the Chicago Avon Walk for Breast Cancer at the end of May. For more details, please check out our team fundraising page (click on either of our names to donate directly to that person). We’ll spend the next few months training to prepare for a walk of up to a marathon and a half. As we note in the Events and Fundraising section of this site, donations made to the Avon Foundation fund critical research, education, early detection, treatment, tests, surgery, and even home-delivered meals for patients. We know that with the support of our wonderful family and friends, we can do it!
Being the data-driven ladies we are, we immediately jumped in to research mode (while simultaneously trying not scare the pants off ourselves...hey, the internet can be a terrifying place). We were brimming with questions: "okay, what are all the diagnostic details, what does all that mean, what's next, what's our plan, what more do we need to know to kick cancer's ass?" On February 11, Dr. Judy Tjoe, breast cancer surgeon extraordinare & Monique, our amazing Cancer Nurse Navigator walked us through the pathology results:
- TNM Staging: 2B
- Size: 2.9cm tumor at the 2 o'clock position of her right breast
- Type: Invasive ductal carcinoma
- Grade: Moderately differentiated cells (2/3)
- Hormone Receptor Status: 100% Estrogen AND Progesterone receptor positive
- HER2/neu Status: Negative
- BRCA 1 & 2 Test: Negative
- Lymph Node Involvement: Cancer cells found in the sentinel lymph node but no evidence of cancer in any other nodes
Shortly afterwards, we began working with a fantastic oncologist, Dr. Flejsierowicz (better known as "Dr. Flej") at the Vince Lombardi Cancer Clinic, Aurora Sinai. The day after our rapidly-planned wedding in Minnesota, Liz started chemotherapy treatments on February 27 (Adriamycin/Cytoxan every three weeks for three months, then Taxol weekly for another three months). Surgery will be up next, some time in Autumn 2014. We feel incredibly fortunate to be joined on this journey by a brilliant, compassionate team of clinicians, all of whom are doing their best to keep Liz healthy and happy for decades to come.
Because we're determined to focus on something positive and transformative during Liz's treatment, we will be participating in the Chicago Avon Walk for Breast Cancer at the end of May. For more details, please check out our team fundraising page (click on either of our names to donate directly to that person). We’ll spend the next few months training to prepare for a walk of up to a marathon and a half. As we note in the Events and Fundraising section of this site, donations made to the Avon Foundation fund critical research, education, early detection, treatment, tests, surgery, and even home-delivered meals for patients. We know that with the support of our wonderful family and friends, we can do it!