If you would like a quick summary of the information in this post, please see my “Cancer Timeline” page

“How in the he$$ did I get here?!” is a question I am still asking myself almost a month after my diagnosis…

Things started in September sometime (I’m pretty sure). I had just finished my August biking challenge, riding 300 km in 30 days and raising $700 for children’s cancer (ironic right). I noticed a small lump in my chest about the size of an almond on my right side which I assumed was a knot in my pec muscle. There were a number of reasons why I made this assumption.

Firstly, I had been having issues with my right shoulder since I started working from home in March. My desk at home was not ergonomic in any way and meant I had to tense/raise my right shoulder when using my mouse all day, which resulted in my shoulder being an absolute mess. Because of my shoulder issues I assumed my chest muscles were compensating/affected by the tension on my right side.

Secondly, I have breast implants that sit underneath my pec muscles which means their anatomy has changed and therefore function differently than they did prior to surgery (for example I CANNOT do a pushup, my pec muscles are completely ineffectual, it’s the strangest thing). Since the lump was located in what would basically be the middle of my pec muscle, it made complete sense that it would be a knot. It even hurt like a muscle knot would hurt when massaged.

Lastly, I am right handed and I had been lifting and carrying and using my right arm to do a lot of manual work for the last few months. In June our pug Lola had surgery on her leg and had to be carried everywhere for 2 months. Following that we fostered a rescue dog, Emma and her 10 puppies for 7 weeks which required a lot of puppy lifting and pen cleaning, the majority of which was carried out with my right arm.

Unfortunately after treating the area with heat, massage and stretching things didn’t seem to be improving. In fact the “knot” seemed to be getting bigger. After appointments with both my RMT and my physiotherapist who were helping me with my shoulder, they both confirmed that they didn’t feel any tension in the area just under my clavicle on my right side. This is when I started to get a little worried so I called my doctors office to make an appointment.

On November 19th I saw a physician at my family doctor’s clinic. She examined the area and agreed with my self-diagnosis. Based on the fact that I was having issues with my right shoulder and was doing so much manual labor with my right arm, it made perfect sense. That being said they don’t take these things lightly so I was referred to the Brest Imaging Department at the Victoria General Hospital (VGH) for an ultrasound.

My ultrasound appointment was on December 12th and honestly, it was delightful! My ultrasound tech was such a sweety and I left with a smile on my face. As I was walking out of the ultrasound room and through the waiting room I called back “thanks, this has been a delight” where another woman overheard and piped up “a delightful mammogram?!? I want her to do mine too!”. In retrospect I realize she did me a huge favor. During my ultrasound she casually mentioned that often times they have patients come back for biopsies just to cover all their bases. She then told me how minor the procedure was, how they froze the area and that it took only a few minutes and then you’re out the door. Looking back I think she must have known then that I would be coming back for a biopsy and she was putting my mind at ease before I could even begin to worry about it. I wish I could remember her name to tell her how grateful I am… A few days later I received word that I needed to go back in for a biopsy.

Unfortunately my biopsy wasn’t as easy-peasy as my ultrasound tech thought it would be. On the morning of December 21st my simple biopsy appointment turned into a second ultrasound, followed by a mammogram, then 2 biopsies of the lump in my breast and another 2 of an enlarged lymph node in my armpit on my right side along with a referral for an MRI. Because the decision to have the additional tests done was made during my appointment I didn’t have anytime to mentally prepare (forgetting to have breakfast didn’t help) and the tears started half way through my mammogram. I left the hospital that morning feeling battered. This was the first time I began to feel scared.

A series of circumstances lead to me call my GP on the evening of Sunday December 27th (it’s a long story and really not important) which is when she informed Curtis and I that the results of my biopsy were in and that they were as bad as they could possibly be, I had cancer; a Ductal Carcinoma. As Monday was a holiday she arranged for her team to call me on Tuesday to have me in to remove my IUD and fast track my MRI so it would be completed before my consult with my surgeon, which I had arranged for January 7th. I had already been referred to a surgeon by my GP on the same day as my biopsy but I opted to work with Dr Hayashi instead as I already knew him and trust him greatly. My IUD was removed December 30th in case the tumor in my breast was affected by hormones and therefore a device in my body that was regularly releasing hormones could have a negative impact and facilitate even faster growth of my tumor.

On December 31st I went to the VGH for my MRI and on January 4th my doctor called me with even more bad news. The cancer in my breast was invasive. The tumor in my breast that I could feel was already 4.5 cm in diameter and there were smaller satellite tumors branching off of it. The total affected area was about 6cm across. Additionally, the results of the biopsy of the lymph node in my right armpit had come back also positive for cancer. There was some good news: there was no sign of cancer on my left side.

On January 6th I received a call from the BC Cancer Agency (BCCA), I was officially a cancer patient. I was given my BC Cancer ID# which ends in 117. That meant that only 6 days into 2021 I was already the 117th person registered as a new cancer patient in BC. So terrible to think about. I also learned that had been referred to an oncologist, Dr Fenton, and I would need to go for bloodwork so I could be booked in for a CT and bone scan in the coming weeks.

The following day, January 7th, I had my first consultation with my surgeon, Dr Hayashi, where I received even more bad news. It had been my hope up until that point that I might be able to avoid chemotherapy, but that was not the case. He informed me that I would require neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgery and most likely radiation treatment after surgery. Additionally a lumpectomy probably wouldn’t be sufficient to remove the cancer from my breast due to the small satellite tumors that had developed, therefore a partial or full mastectomy was most likely. Going forward my treatment plan would be decided by my oncologist but in the meantime I would need to have a “clip” placed in my infected lymph node so it could be identified during surgery as they often shrink and disappear following chemo. He also recommended I have a port inserted into my chest for my chemotherapy treatments. I was also referred to the Pacific Fertility clinic so I could have my eggs frozen as chemotherapy could destroy all of my eggs and leave me sterile.

First thing the next morning, January 8th, we had a phone consultation with Dr Roberts, a fertility doctor with the Pacific fertility clinic. He informed us that we would be put at the top of his list for fertility preservation and that as long as we could wait to start chemo for a couple weeks he would be able to help us save some eggs incase the chemotherapy wipes them all out. He also let us know there was a drug that I could take on a monthly basis – Depolupron (I think that’s how you spell it..) – during my chemotherapy that will essentially put my reproductive system into hibernation and reduce the effect of chemotherapy on my ovaries by up to 50%, and reduce my chance of going into menopause at the age of 30, yay! Dr Roberts let us know that he and his team would be standing by to start my fertility plan once I learned the treatment plan from my oncologist.

First thing Monday morning (January 11th) I received a call from the VGH, they had an opening and could schedule me for a CT scan for that afternoon. So off to my CT I went… that’s really all I’ve got for ya…

Tuesday, January 12th was a busy day. At 8 am I had the clip inserted into my infected lymph node (ouch) and then at 11am we had my consultation with my oncologist, Dr Fenton. Despite the fact that he didn’t laugh at all my jokes (and there were some good ones!) Curtis and I both really liked him! We could both tell he really knew his stuff and explained everything really well. He let us know that the final tests on my biopsy had been completed and that I have what is called triple negative breast cancer. This means that my cancer does not have any of the 3 hormone receptors that are commonly found in breast cancer and is very receptive to chemotherapy (finally some good news!)

The recommended course of treatment is for 5 months of chemotherapy followed by a full mastectomy on my right side and possibly radiation treatment after surgery. I will start with weekly chemotherapy sessions for 12 weeks with 2 types of chemo and then switch to 2 other types of chemo that is administered every 2 weeks for 8 weeks. Normally the second round is done every 3 weeks but new protocols allow it to be condensed to sessions every 2 weeks with the addition of an immuno-booster (for full details of my chemo treatment here is the handout I received from Dr Fenton: http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/chemotherapy-protocols-site/Documents/Breast/BRLACTWAC_Handout.pdf) Because triple negative breast cancer is quite rare he recommends I have some genetic testing done to see if my cancer is a result of a gene mutation. If I do I may want to elect to have a double mastectomy as the chance for recurrence is quite high. Luckily he saw no reason for us to forego fertility preservation so I provided we can squeeze my fertility treatments and egg retrieval into 2 weeks, I will begin chemo in the beginning of February.

By the next day (January 13th) the fertility clinic had a plan in place and I was off to life labs to give them more of my blood to test my hormone levels. Less than 24 hours later (January 14th) I was in the fertility clinic at 8:30 am for an ultrasound to check on my ovaries and pick up the injections for my fertility treatment. Provided everything goes as planned, Curtis and I will be travelling to Burnaby sometime between January 26th and 29th for my egg retrieval procedure and fertilization so our “baby insurance” will be complete! I began my fertility injections that evening and let me tell ya, giving yourself that first needle is hard! Not physically, it’s a teeny little poke, but the mental effort it takes to convince your hand to put that needle into that soft gooey pouch around your belly button where you keep your extra cookies is crazy!

Also on January 14th I had my bone scan at the Royal Jubilee Hospital (RJH). Not that exciting except that I was injected with a radioactive isotope so I was considered “hot” for 24hrs, so that was kind of cool. No super powers to report so far though…

And that brings me to today, January 19th. As you can imagine I’m exhausted (and not just my fingers from typing out this MASSIVE post). This week is the first – and as far as I can tell ONLY – week that I don’t have a huge roster of doctor appointments, tests, procedures etc. to manage. Next week we should be travelling to Burnaby for egg retrieval and I could be starting chemo as early as the following week. This week I am dedicating to ME. Yesterday I went on a 4km hike with miss Lola in the morning and finished off the day with an amazing bubble bath. Today I did some puttering around the house and then finally sat down to write this post (once the lovely Rachael taught me how).

My goal is to continue to keep everyone updated as things progress, and with much shorter posts. I’m also thinking I might make an FAQ page because I seem to be getting a lot of the same questions, which I don’t mind of course, it just might be easier to answer them all at once.

As I finish my first post I want to thank you for reading (if you made it through the whole thing, I’m seriously impressed!) and for everyone’s ongoing support and love. Having such an amazing support system keeps my spirits up and gives me strength to continue moving forward each day.

❤ B