Once Upon A Time...

Ok kids, gather 'round. I'm going to tell you a story about a lump. Not just any lump...a lump with magical powers to grow and grow...

(I think before I move any further into the story of what is happening NOW, you all deserve the story on how this cancer came to be.)

Once upon a time there was a girl with a tiny little lump in her breast. She found it a very, very long time ago...late November of 2010. It was about the size of a pea and very easy to see and feel. (It is thought that this girl must be a true princess since she could feel the pea sized lump!) Like any smart girl, she went straight to her Ob/Gyn and got it checked by a professional. They immediately sent her to have the lump examined by mammogram and ultrasound. The nice tech at Diagnostic Imaging let her know almost immediately that the radiologist was not concerned and thought it looked like a cyst and appeared harmless. She said to keep an eye on it and follow up in 6 months. During that 6 months, a lot happened! She started a new job and spent 2 weeks in Philadelphia for training, then Christmas, New Years, a work trip to Dallas, her friend Kelly announcing her diagnosis with breast cancer... Wait! Stop the story. Yes, her friend found a lump at about the same time and started her treatment right then. Yes, this is the same amazing friend who is now the team captain and is cancer free... Ok, moving on... so needless to say, life got incredibly busy. And despite her friend's attempt to get her to follow up sooner, she waited until that cute little pink reminder card showed up in the mail 6 months later. (Really, did it have to be PINK?) So before heading to NY/VT for her little sister's wedding, she thought she had better get this thing checked. Now that the card showed up, upon closer review, it did seem like the little pea sized lump had grown a bit...

The new and improved magic lump!

So at the end of a workday, she went in for the recommended 6 month checkup, expecting a quick once-over and to hear that it was fine. Well, it didn't exactly go that way, but close. The tech took the pictures, left for a few minutes, returned and said 'The dr. would like to come in an examine you'. Well, 'hmmmm' she thought. 'This is weird'. So Dr. Hermann came in, did an exam and escorted her to his office to show her the images on his computer. A very nice man and obviously caring doctor, he strongly recommended that she visit a surgeon and have it removed as soon as possible. He did say that it showed the characteristics of a benign cyst, but it had grown nearly SIX times the size in just six months! A magic lump!

So based on the recommendation of her NP, she made an appointment to visit Dr Shook immediately upon return from vacation on July 5. Everyone agreed that enjoying vacation (which she did very much!) was important and then address this thing upon return.

Enjoying vacation at Lauren and Mike's wedding in Lake Morey, Vermont!!

On July 5, she consulted with Dr Shook who explained that often in a case like this, he would do a core biopsy before surgery. He really felt that with all of the characteristics of a benign cyst (we're hearing this more than once now, right?), it was a wasted step and they would biopsy it post excision. Aka: an excisional biopsy. A little over a week later, she went into surgery (Thanks Desiree for the escort and support! xoxo) and had that magical growing lump removed. Ahhhh :) The End. Right? Oh no...

So that was Wednesday, July 13. On Monday, July 18, the girl flew to New Jersey for a week long 'elite' training that she had worked hard preparing for. She arrived at the hotel at roughly 3pm and was scheduled to meet a group (of other employees from around the country whom she had never met) in the lobby at 5 for a dinner off site at an exclusive French restaurant. Excited about food (as usual), she checked in, reviewed the week's itinerary, quickly showered, dressed and was ready to go by 4:30. The cell phone reception in the room was horrible and as she got to the lobby, she realized she had missed a few calls. So, at 4:45 in the lobby she hovered in a corner to get the best reception and listened to a message from Dr. Shook. "Hey Shelley, Dr. Shook. Hey, we need to talk so I guess I will just call you back." (What? Stop the bus. There are few things in life that I hate more than "We need to talk". It's never good, is it?) So she waited about 3 minutes and decided to have him paged, hunted down, whatever it took for him to take the call asap. He called her a few minutes later from his car. So there she stood in the Marriott lobby in Princeton, NJ on the phone with him in his car having the following conversation "Shelley. I got your biopsy results. That thing was not benign. You have invasive ductal breast cancer." Oh, hey, Dr. Shook. Thanks for not candy coating it! So there she sat, in tears, in the hotel lobby (don't tell me you don't want to start singing the Prince song...'I met her in a hotel lobby...'). Alone. Horrible cell service. Alone. Among strangers. Crying. Until a recognizable face (a rep from KC) showed up. "Hey girl!! Uh...are you ok?" Nope. Sure not. So he booked her through the company travel agency on a flight that night back to KC. Hugs. Thanks. Headed up to the room to pack and home by midnight. To arrive at the airport to have Chris there to carry the luggage to the car (You rock Chris!) and to have Desiree and Kelly at the dining room table with cards and hugs waiting. They tucked her in bed and wished her sweet dreams. The best friends a girl could ask for...

The End.

So thankful for people who do not listen to my empty words, but hear the need in my heart <3