First of all, thank you all for sending your love and support my way. Can't tell you how much I feel lifted and comforted by your emails and calls. ;) I feel so incredibly lucky to have you in my life.
On the boob front, I'm working hard at being my own quarterback between the various departments at the hospital. With insurance still falling down on some fronts, the hospital staff is reluctant to schedule tests and scans that the surgeon wants....despite the fact that I've thrown down my credit card and asked them to not hold up on anything that the doctor wants. I'll fight the insurance company later, I tell them...just schedule the tests!
When I return to LA I'll have a CT Scan, along with all of the other pre-op testing on the 2nd and 5th. This scan should help the doctor tell if the cancer has spread, along with the results of the lymph node biopsy on the 7th. Insurance won't cover the PET scans that the surgeon wanted...but Dr. Chang (my surgeon) says that she's ok with only the CT Scan for now. She even had to appeal to AETNA with a peer to peer discussion to get the CT Scan approved!
With the only unknown being whether or not it's spread, I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to getting the results of the pathology back so I can breathe easy!
In a strange way, this process is reminding me of when I bought my first house. You have to stay on top of the builder, the contracters, the lawyer, the mortgage broker and the bank in order to make sure that things are done right and you don't get screwed. Only this time, it's my life on the line, not money or a silly house.
Thank God I was given a set of ovaries that act like balls (sometimes), a brain with enough capacity to understand some of this stuff, and a mouth big enough to speak up. I truly worry for those who are sick, who are shy or don't have the tools in one form or another to be their own advocate!
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