Preparing to Embark On My Previvor Journey

Friday marks November 1st, and my bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction is on December 11th. Reality has set in and I’m deep in planning mode. I’ve started assessing the products I may need and the help I WILL need... all while trying to process some unexpected (and frankly scary) news I got about my health last week.

Though I am happily married, having a child with complex medical needs means I can’t utilize my partner for my entire recovery. Safi and I often have to divide and conquer, and I know I’ll have to do much of this on my own. I truly need him to be available to the kids (specifically Soraya) during the few days he’s taking off work. So, I decided to gather data from women who were single/single parents to understand how I should prepare. I figured this would give me a realistic view of how quickly they recovered, as (in my admittedly biased view) they had no choice other than to recover ASAP.

From this data, I learned I needed two people to help me for the first week of recovery. I was able to secure those last week – THANK YOU FRIENDS!

I was also able to make a list of things I’ll need. One friend made me a wish list on Amazon, while another sent me a new wedge pillow and robe for drains. Umm, I didn’t know I needed a robe that included spots for drains, let alone many of the items on the list. I can’t lie... I am more anxious now thinking about the pain, restrictions, and how I will keep up with day-to-day logistics.

While this surgery is a BIG deal, it’s just the beginning of my life as a previvor and the life maintenance that goes with this new identity. Next year, my ovaries will come out (causing me to start menopause early). With that in mind, I got a DEXA scan to check my bone health and some hormone labs to make sure I am OK at baseline. My labs and scan looked great! 

However, as my wonderful endocrinologist examined me, she discovered one side of my thyroid enlarged with a nodule 😰

I will be getting a thyroid ultrasound on Friday and go from there. I am terrified—not for me, but for my family that relies on me. Hopefully, it’s nothing and I can carry on with surgery recovery planning...

One step at a time.