When I went in for mastectomy surgery, it was supposed to be the cure for my cancer. My diagnosis - based on imaging - was noninvasive Ductal Carcinoma In SITU (DCIS). DCIS is considered a Stage 0 cancer. DCIS is contained within the milk ducts and has not moved outside of the milk ducts. The cure for DCIS is removal of the cancer. Mastectomy was my cure.
When the breast surgeons opened me up, they found a 6 cm tumor in my left breast, broken out of the ducts in 14 places. The presence of cancer in my lymph nodes too made the cancer even more dangerous.
I thought I would wake up from surgery and be cured. No chemo, no radiation, nothing else needed. Instead, I woke up from surgery to find out the cancer was invasive and had spread a lot more than they saw in the pre-operative imaging. I was no longer cured.
My cancer was upgraded to a Stage II and suddenly I needed chemo. I was mentally prepared for the possibility of chemo, but not prepared for not being able to go back to work... I had my heart and mind set on about 6 weeks of healing, maybe less, and back at my career. Chemo does things to the body and mind that make work so difficult.
I woke up a hot mess... I cried in pain a lot during the first night.