Welcome to Boobtober

You know how I celebrated Boobtober last year? I had chemo. This year I decided to fly out to Colorado and visit my cousin and my good friend and her husband to kick things off. After frolicking in fields, hiking, eating, enjoying snow and taking photos like below:

it was time to say good bye to my Rocky Mountain High and face boobtober head on. How did I take boobtober on? I got my squish on!

Yearly Mammogram!
Today, after having a pretty sweet vacation it was back to reality hardcore. I had my yearly mammogram this morning and lets just say by the time I got off the plane last night I put on my crazy pants, shirt, jacket, hat.... I know that I just had a chest CT that was clean (like 2 weeks ago), but knowing that this exam was coming up made me a lot ansy and all over the place. Last night I could not carry a conversation without darting from topic to topic, but I was able to sleep soundly all night. This morning, sans deodarant (it interferes with the pictures) I confidently walked into the mammogram suite. And then felt the anxiety of all the people waiting in there. I smiled at many to try to calm nerves, but I don't think the fact that I was 10 years younger than the youngest person or that I have short (still curly-ish) hair helped.

They finally call my name and then it is squishing time. As I try to become one with plastic vices by moving my arms over here, sticking my butt out there and trying to make my ribs stick out less I have impressed the tech with my high pain tolerance. My favorite part is when she tells me to hold my breath-way ahead of you! We take a couple of extra photos, just for fun (or to see where all of the many metal clips are located). I am sore and covered in red marks by the time we are done. She tells me to go have a seat in the waiting room so they can read my film. In the waiting room is a family (the daughter and sister) waiting for a patient who is having her biopsy. The sister keeps staring at me, and I just smiled back. They are very anxious and I hope all is benign for them. I hope all is benign for the woman sitting next to me who finds out she has to have an ultra sound to further investigate her mammogram. Been there. Hope it's nothing.

Then they call my name again.

There is a constant line of four letter words going off in my head as I follow them into the consult room....................and then they tell me everything was fine. Yeah!!! Couldn't you have spared me the anxiety and told me I can go to my next appointment? That was a little too much drama for a Monday morning.  I happily take off my pink johnnie and my crazy pants.

One Year Follow Up with the Surgeon
Phew...with my clean bilateral mammogram I head up to meet with my surgeon. He is happy with my zero complaints or issues. He is happy with my films. And he is happy with the way the vaccine and tamoxifen are going. I'm pleased too. After a physical exam to make sure there are no new lumps he sends me on my way and says see you in a year! A year! 

This year I am celebrating boobtober by putting more and more time between me and cancer. And the mammogram waiting room always makes me grateful to have gotten here.