I'm a mom too!

37 skin biopsies, 16 dysplastic nevus (moles), 3 severely dysplastic (atypical) requiring wide local excisions, 0 melanoma, 1 basal cell carcinoma-staying on top of it!

2025-01-12T18:54:00.005-06:00

After many many years of cutting I had my first skin cancer biopsy and it is on my nose. I am not happy about where it is located but I am happy that it is basal cell carcinoma and not Melanoma. I had Moh's surgery and I am not worried about the scar. I was VERY LUCKY THAT I ONLY NEEDED ONE CUT! It will be temporary but in the name of the best case recovery I do plan on taking it easy just because of it being located on my nose.

How Mohs Surgery Works:

Excision of the Tumor: The surgeon removes the visible part of the tumor along with a thin layer of surrounding tissue.
Tissue Examination: Immediately after removal, the excised tissue is processed and examined under a microscope. The surgeon looks for cancerous cells at the edges (margins) of the tissue.
Further Removal if Needed: If any cancerous cells are found at the edges, the surgeon removes another thin layer of tissue only from the area where the cancer cells remain, and the process is repeated. This step-by-step approach ensures that only cancerous tissue is removed.
Precise Mapping: The tissue is carefully mapped to ensure that each layer is taken from the exact location where the cancer is present. This helps to preserve as much healthy tissue as possible, which is particularly important in areas like the face, ears, and hands.
Closure: Once all cancerous cells have been removed, the surgeon will close the wound with stitches, or in some cases, a skin graft or flap may be necessary.

And below find out what I have previously posted about my journey with dysplastic moles. So I am resharing this important info. There is a lot to know about skin cancer.

Reading a skin pathology report. In my search to find the answers to these questions I have noticed that it is VERY hard to find the answer the answers in layman's terms so I am going to take a stab at it. Disclaimer--I am not a doctor. I'm just a patient that has had 24 skin biopsies (give or take a few). I've been very confused in the past.

What is the difference between benign, dysplastic/atypical, and melanoma?

Benign=not cancerous/malignant

Dysplastic/atypical=in between benign and cancer

Melanoma=cancer

Are their different kinds/stages of dysplastic nevus?

Yes there are many kinds (I have no idea how many kinds but your path report should show you) and stages (for lack of any better way to describe this). This is how I see severity in my brain.

Benign-you are GOOD!
Mildly dysplastic (you will see the words mild atypia or mild somewhere) -ALMOST BENIGN
Moderately dysplastic (look for the word moderate)- SMACK DAB IN BETWEEN benign and cancer, Drs. will probably look to see that margins were cleared
Severely dysplastic (look for the words severe)- ALMOST CANCER, Drs. will consider wide local excision to ensure that no almost cancer cells are left behind. These are treated the same as Melanoma 0.
MELANOMA 0 (also known as Melanoma in SITU)
MELANOMA I
MELANOMA II
MELANOMA III
MELANONA IV
Clear as mud???

HERE IS MY LATEST WIDE LOCAL EXCISON after the stiches were out. THIS WAS A SEVERELY DYSPLASTIC JUNCTIONAL NEVUS

THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE BEFORE MY BIOPSY. My Dr. told me that the spots spreading away are a sign of a blistering sunburn (that I had 1 year ago) and that is why we looked under the micro lens thingy and decided to biopsy it.

I go to the derm every 6 months. He is very skilled at finding these. So far I remain cancer free (This is a repost. I now have had basal cell carcinoma.
) but this may be a full time job.

If you are reading this and have NOT ever had a mole check I advise you do find a dermatologist and get one. Get a baseline check. Get advice from a doctor. That is my advice always. Do not mess around and look for answers on the interweb! You won't find them. ;)

6/7 months FLEW BY!! EVERYTHING LOOKS GOOD!!

2021-05-19T14:25:00.005-05:00

So today was my 6 month radiation oncologist check-up (except it was 7 months). It was a little emotional walking back into the radiation clinic for the first time since being there every day. My last check up was in Nov. and it was via telehealth because Covid19 was CrAzY at the time (Nov. 2020). This oncologist impresses me as he looks at everything, including my brain MRI from Dec. I now have TWO amazing Drs. looking at my brain MRIs. He told me that looked great too! Do you know what is better than having a doctor telling you a scan looks good, it is TWO doctors telling you that. He also took the time to ask about other issues (my other oncologists don't do that). I made the mistake of telling him about some hip pain I have had this last week. He told me to try to cut sugar to see if that takes away the inflammation. Ugh. That's the last time I complain. LOL Then he said, "EVERYTHING LOOKS GOOD!! SEE YOU IN A YEAR!!"

Love those words. That doesn't mean I don't doctor for a year though. My next mammogram is in July and I actually have 5 more appointments this year (general doctor physical, mammogram, neurologist, medical oncologist, neurosurgeon). This is my life now. I spend all my sick days staying well. 😊

Taylor Swift and Folklore, another time stamp on my journey

2020-11-25T16:24:00.003-06:00

This is the album that came out during the pandemic, the summer of my cancer diagnosis. I listened to it on the way to radiation most days. It is such an easy listening, musical, goose bumpy, teary album. It will always remind me of isolation, facing M’s senior year, and cancer. What a time in my life. Thank you Taylor for once again being there. Loved this film! Very goose bumpy!!!!

Ephiphany as a tribute to today’s pandemic heroes.....😭

Peace was a song that I just listened to in order come to peace and fix the anxiety that came with my cancer diagnosis. Something about it was soothing. Probably the high pitched metronome in the background. 😂

My next 5 years began today...

2020-11-17T16:26:00.000-06:00

Today I start this hormone blocker. I will take this for 5 years and hope side effects are minimal. This is to prevent reocurrence on the right and breast cancer on the left. Follow up to this drug and my medical oncologist will be in 3-4 months. Wish me luck!

Back to teaching in a pandemic

2020-11-14T09:56:00.005-06:00

So I couldn't let this blog go without documenting teaching in person, in a pandemic. I wear a mask and a microphone and honestly it isn't as bad as a thought. The worst part is definitely not being able to hear the kids speak in their masks. Also the planning it takes to get ready for remote students, quarantined students, and in person students is a lot! And of course juggling students on zoom with students in your class is also a lot. I am looking forward to the day this stops for sure but I'm learning that I can do hard things. And better than I thought I was capable of. I am doing OK. How are you doing?

Almost healed

2020-11-13T20:20:00.004-06:00

It's been awhile. I've been busy. Working 5 days a week during a pandemic is not for the weak. I'm doing it though! I can do hard things. Anyway back to healing. I DID get a rash, DANG IT! and it showed up 2 weeks after I finished. They were not wrong. They said that week would be the hardest. However my daughter has severe eczema and when I compare my rash to her skin I still think I got off easy. I think it is finally getting better now, a week later. I ended up stopping my prescription and using this Soothing Salve and I think it is working. This came in a patient care package found here. I have since repurchased this for my daughter.

So I have follow ups next week. I was glad that one was in person and one was telehealth. I got a phone call because they did ask me to do both via telehealth, because Covid19. It's getting pretty bad. I did say though that I thought they needed to see this rash. It's better but not gone, and it's taking it's sweet time healing. So they are allowing it. Then they wanted to change my time and I explained I'm a teacher and I have a sub. They understood so I get to keep my appointment. I am sad hospitals are filling up. Please, please wear a mask.

Bra liners are also a game changer.

Teachers, You CAN take the time

2020-10-26T17:55:00.002-05:00

Teachers, I took 10 weeks off from my job for surgery and radiation. If anyone would ask me advice I would say if you can’t easily leave your job, don’t even go in. Not working was be\st for the kids (stability) , best for the sub (stability), and best for me. Surgery and treatment went really smoothly, and the whole time I stressed about not being at school. I felt good enough to be there, however every time I considered it I got really anxious. I had weekly appointments. I didn’t always know what was going on either. Add Covid precautions, remote teaching while teaching in person, and Covid stress and the answer was clear. It baffled me though that many people not affiliated with schools did not understand why I wasn’t working. Going back to work is going surprisingly well and I’m really glad I took that time. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

SURPRISE! You are done with radiation. 16/16

2020-10-20T20:10:00.002-05:00

That was the phone call I got at noon today, and my response was...OOOKKKAAAYYY? And the resident that called me laughed. He asked, "Are you OK with that?"

OF COURSE I'M OK WITH THAT!

The short story is that they are happy with the 16 treatments that I've had and they think it is enough.

The long story is my case is unique. It was a large area of contained cancer. They did 3 weeks of whole breast radiation. The next 5 treatments were supposed to be a targeted boost of higher radiation to just the cancer cavity which is large. Upon making my plan they discovered it is too large to do without risks. Basically the risks outweigh the benefit. They are more comfortable leaving me be than going forward with the boost which I most likely do not need. Sooooo......

YIIPPPPEEEEEEEEEE!

I feel great and tomorrow I'm going back to work. You can now pray that I remember how to teach. :) What a roller coaster the last 14 weeks have been.

Ready or not here I come 2nd grade!

Ct simulation today 12/20

2020-10-14T11:47:00.000-05:00

Today was CT simulation for more targeted radiation next week. The surgical area did shrink making this easier. Skin still looks good. I added a picture of the prescription I’m using on my skin for my memory.

I’m halfway done! 10/20

2020-10-12T10:30:00.003-05:00

It’s still going good. No reaction yet! 😁

Radiation is going good! 8/20

2020-10-08T09:27:00.003-05:00

Just finished radiation treatment #8. It’s still going well. Drinking a lot of water. 💕

Breast Cancer Awareness Month 3/20

2020-10-01T14:18:00.002-05:00

Radiation is still going well. It takes 1.5 hrs. to go, do, and get back home. Time in the machine is about 10 min. I'll take it! The drive isn't bothering me yet. Skies were blue, the trees are beautiful right now. Thank God it isn't January.

Today is the first day of Breast Cancer Awareness. I am thankful for any and all donations people have given in the past to breast cancer research. It is because of research that I have no evidence of cancer currently. I have given my story to a friend to help raise more money for breast cancer. Here is the link to that https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/survivher-amanda .

I finally got to start radiation today! 1/20

2020-09-29T14:44:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure I'm supposed to be that excited about it but I totally am. Let's get this show on the road! I'm happy that I will be on my back. I wasn't sure until today. They gave me a scanner card. So I scan my card to go past the front desk, kind of like an employee. No more covid questions! Appointments are at 9:00 every morning. I see the oncologist on Wednesdays. One down, 19 to go!!!!

Radiation take 2! This was not on my 2020 Bingo card!!

2020-09-28T11:06:00.003-05:00

Last week was a tough week and I learned a lot about myself. Apparently I am fine as long as I am actively doctoring and working towards the end of my treatment. Due to a security issue with the hospital's IT system, radiation was cancelled with no future date knows. I was told maybe Thurs. then maybe Monday, hopefully is isn't more than a week! I didn't handle that news so well.

Thankfully the system was restored on Sat. (a week later, 3 days after my original radiation appointment, and I will begin tomorrow! I will have 20 daily treatments with a re-simulation after 15. It should take 4.5 weeks from tomorrow.

I NEED my planner!!

My hospital's IT system shut down, radiation has been delayed, and I'm allergic to aquaphor...

2020-09-23T12:50:00.003-05:00

I have a feeling I won't start radiation until Monday Sept. 28. System is still not up. I can't even get a hold of them to figure out what hydration ointment I can use now. Oh yeah and we are having electrical problems at home and our dishwasher isn't working. I think we did avoid a house fire last night though....I've had better couple of days.

Radiation will begin Sept. 23rd/Just Kidding

2020-09-16T18:59:00.004-05:00

Update: The hospital was hacked and it's IT systems is down. You can do radiation without tech so radiation is postponed until they get their systems up and running again. Read about it here.

Today I had a long appointment with my radiation oncologist. Healing looks good and we will radiate the whole breast for 3 weeks and then he will most likely target the area for a 4th week. One thing I am learning is the plan is always fluid. That being said there haven't been a lot of surprises or issues so that is good.

We did CT simulation on my back but also on my front (not my favorite but doable). I have sharpie marks on my front and back because they aren't 100% sure which way I'm going yet. My area was actually large and went from the peck muscle to the outside skin so they are covering a lot of area and very close to the chest wall. He said I picked a good side though (right is preferable because of your heart being on the left). They will radiate the entire breast for 3 weeks and then for the 4th week they will target what needs to be targeted. The recommended lotion is aquaphor ointment and I will begin that tomorrow. Fatigue gets worse as I go and continues for a couple weeks when finished. Radiation will kill cells and the healthy ones repair themselves. My appointments will be everyday for about 30 min. + 30 min. each way to drive. Also, in today's directions I am not supposed to lose or gain weight...so just when I was getting some momentum with weight loss again 😂😂!

I am happy to get this show on the road! I should be finishing up Oct. 23.

Nothing to see here.

2020-09-08T16:06:00.000-05:00

Another follow up appointment with the surgeon today. Scars look good, see you in 4 months! I'm looking forward to next week's appointment with my radiation oncologist. I am so anxious to get radiation started! (and done). I'm on season 8 of FRIENDS. I'm gonna run out of episodes. Have watched AWAY yet?? I'm watching that too. Do NOT watch that without a box of tissues! That's all I have for updates for this week.

No chemo needed!

2020-09-01T13:33:00.001-05:00

This morning I met with my medical oncologist. Up until last night at midnight I didn't think anything of this appointment. Then for some reason, at midnight, I started thinking OMG WHY are they having me meet with the medical oncologist BEFORE the radiation oncologist and I PANICKED. I thought for sure they were going to tell me margins weren't clear enough and I would need chemo. Therefore I lost a whole night of sleep. The ONLY reason I could think of them wanting to treat with chemo is that one margin was only .06 cm from my chest muscle wall and they generally want close to a 2 mm margin. For a change I was thankful for my early 8 AM appointment where he confirmed that the cancer was contained and he confirmed that margin should be OK because it wasn't invasive. So treatment remains the same. I am having radiation, and I am going on hormone blocker. So to sum up, nothing changed and I panicked for nothing. Most of the time is I am calm as a cucumber about my appointments but every once in awhile my emotions and anxiety attack the rational part of my brain and take over. Welcome to my life of medical PTSD.

He also reminded me that I need to eat healthy and not to gain any weight. I have reversed my habits and have lost a couple pounds. The trick will be keeping healthy habits when I go back to work (I'm currently on FMLA). BTW, it may be in my head, but I am CONVINCED that I am doing so well because we are taking the time to focus on my health without the stress of work. I get more sleep, I am eating better, drinking more water, have less stress than I would have if I was trying to do both. Many people call me strong. I correct them and tell me not strong, just wise. And unfortunately experienced. I STRUGGLED when I went back to work after my brain tumor. My doctors and I talked at length about what was best for me and not working was the answer. We also wanted to see what COVID numbers would do. So far so good in my district!! I AM itching to get back in the classroom but I know that is not best for me, and having me distracted and fatigued is not best for them either.

Also radiation will start in approximately 4 weeks. I am starting to get impatient. Let's get this started and tackled already. Apparently they want me healed first. FINE, I guess the Drs. know what they are doing.

After that appointment I got to head downtown to my 1 year neurologist appt. Those are pretty uneventful. We just go over prescriptions. Nothing has changed since my last seizure in 2016. Just a hoop to jump to get my meds renewed for another year.

And now that I'm thinking about both my brain AND my breast cancer I looked up something that I've been wondering. I often compare the two experiences and now I'm to the point that I want to know which one I should worry about coming back; my atypical meningioma (almost benign brain tumor)? or my stage 0 DCIS (contained breast cancer). Well google gave me an answer and I confirmed what my gut believed. I have a 3-7% chance of breast cancer reoccuring (as told to me by my oncologists). My chance of a brain tumor reoccuring is 24-32 percent. This is why I was more stressed and vocal about my brain tumor situation than I ever got of this one. (Again this is just my personal situation. Many breast cancer warriors are not as lucky as I have been).

Complete removal of a meningioma and dura is the best way to avoid a recurrence. However, there is still a 24 to 32 percent chance that a meningioma will recur in 15 years, even when the original tumor was completely removed. In about 95 percent of recurrences, the new meningioma grows in the same spot as before.

Meningioma Recurrence | Johns Hopkins Medicine

www.hopkinsmedicine.org

Wow, I had a lot on my mind. Thanks for letting me get out of my head. Now, for a nap. I'm exhausted.

Clear margins! Happy tears!

2020-08-25T11:42:00.003-05:00

My two spots of DCIS were removed with clear margins! They were 68 mm and 45 mm.

Everything is going as expected. I'm healing well. This is the easiest surgery I have had to date. I can drive, cook, and clean. I do NOT want to downplay how hard surgery CAN be. I did not have lymph nodes removed. I did not have drains. I had the best case scenario, even with two spots. I will say though the diagnosis, three needle biopsies, and MRIs were very difficult so when I say surgery was easy, the 4 weeks prior to that were not. It should be downhill from here. You can still pray that I have no obstacles or complications during radiation and that my energy level stays up during treatment.

Now onto radiation (which is just an aggressive approach to ensure there are no cancer cells left behind). I updated my dates here.

I'm feeling good

2020-08-20T20:14:00.001-05:00

So yesterday school started without me. And it felt weird because I feel really good, however today I realized that I feel good because I'm not doing much. I am walking everyday and until today I was even feeling guilty about that, but today I realized that if I'm going to go back into the classroom in a pandemic with twice the workload I'm gonna HAVE TO WALK MORE! I'm currently walking 1 mile in the morning and sometimes a mile in the evening. I'm gonna have to increase that if I think I'm gonna have any kind of stamina for going back into the classroom. So if you see me walking, know that I'm training for my comeback. :)

As far as recovery. I have to keep my bandage intact til Tuesday. It is starting to get annoying but I think I'll live.

My FRIENDS schedule...

2020-08-18T16:34:00.002-05:00

Well Friends has always been the way that I recover from surgery. Now that it is not on Netflix I was wondering what they heck I was gonna do. I signed up for HBO Max but could not find a way to watch it on my TV which frustrating me to no end. Then yesterday, on TBS West I watched the finale, followed by the pilot and realized that if I stick with TBS I'll probably be able to knock out a lot of seasons. And boy am I right! They show them 9-3 on weekdays and we will be starting season 3 by the end of the week. This is a new speed to which I will watch them all!! The only thing I can't figure out is why it is 4:30 and I'm still watching FRIENDS. The schedule is off today and I'm not sure why. Does it matter?

Update to say I figured it out!! TBS West plays them 1:00-6:00 and TBS East plays them 10:00-3:00. There are 10 episodes per day and I can watch 10:00-6:00 every day if need be. PHEW. That's a lot, even for me. It'll be fun to try though! If I miss one I can pick up later!

Have a great first day of school tomorrow to all my BCS teacher friends, students, and daughters!!! I'm missing out on one historical firsts for education (we are teaching face to face while teaching remote). I will be thinking about you all!! 💖💜

and now back to eating healthy, while keeping my hard to feed kids happy, while breaking up the monotony of eating the same things over and over

2020-08-16T19:09:00.007-05:00

Time to call in for back up called Marley Spoon and Blue Apron. So we have dabbled in these two subscriptions and this is our pro con list.

Pro:
Healthy and fresh
Tasty
Breaks up monotony
Delivered to your door

Con:
Time consuming to make
Not every day type meals

Uses a lot of dishes
Pricey but it isn't something we'd wouldn't do every day anyway so this evens out

Will we continue? Nope. They are simply too time consuming. I also have a subscription to emeals that we currently don't use. Back to square one. Need to get healthy. Need to eat more veggies and less carbs. Don't want to. That being said, this was a fun experiment that J and my hubby enjoyed doing together.

Marley Spoon

Blue Apron

Add caption

Where did my anxiety go?

2020-08-16T11:50:00.002-05:00

Today I feel better than I have felt since I was diagnosed with DCIS. Translation: I feel amazing! All my anxiety is gone. I went for a walk this morning. The biopsies and MRIs were the worst part so far. This may not last as I continue onto meds and radiation but for now, this two weeks, I'LL TAKE IT! Do not worry about me. For now I am so good. :)

So surgery.....

2020-08-15T12:17:00.001-05:00

My calendar knows me too well! 😆

So in the morning I found out that the third biopsy was in fact DCIS so I found out that I was actually having 2 lumpectomies, both on the right breast. All my biopsies were on the right. So the first biopsy on July 8 was DCIS, the second one on July 21 was benign, and the 3rd one was a result of the MRI finding and it was also DCIS. That dang MRI that I tried to talk them out of us was actually a lifesaver. The mammogram didn't catch this, the contrast on my MRI lit it up. So the upside to this is I really do not have a benign cyst problem so I guess I can drink caffeine after all?? Tamoxifen should take care of developing anymore DCIS and radiation will kill anything they missed. My reoccurence percentage is still only 3%.

So at 10:00 I had two seeds placed and went to presurgery. They had my IV and monitors, hooked up by 11:00. Surgery was scheduled for 1:00 so I napped. 1:00 came and went. 2:00 came and went.

Being impatient

Finally at 3:00 they came in and wheeled me away for surgery. It took about 1.5 hours, and it went well. I have one bandage over the area. I'm not positive if I have one incision or two to be honest and the bandage has to stay on for two weeks. I did came to in quite a bit of pain and asked for pain meds. That kicked in nicely and when my pain was at about a 2 we came home. I was home by 7:00. I felt pretty good. I was in way worse shape after gall bladder surgery. I wasn't nauseated or hungry but my throat did hurt because they did have a tube down my throat so we decided a shake from Runza was the right call.

Getting ice cream

I took pain meds at 10:00 just to get through the night and this morning I feel pretty good. Took some Tylenol and I think it may be my last dose of pain meds. I do have to keep the dressing somewhat dry for two weeks so I'll be in my PJs watching netflix for some time but I'm not immobile and not in pain. I will try to walk but also try not sweat. Overall I feel really, really good and I can't stress that enough. Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers!!!

And just like that my anxiety is gone.

Pick me up gift bag from www.TheGracieFoundationinc.org

The day before my lumpectomy

2020-08-13T10:43:00.007-05:00

I'm doing good. I fully trust my surgeon oncologist. I've always felt very comfortable with my hospital. It is too bad the hospital and I are so acquainted. I have had 4 surgeries and spent a total of 11 nights in this hospital. I will not be spending the night tomorrow. I have been on the other side in the waiting room and as a visitor when my mom had lung cancer surgery. You will find me guiding people in the right direction when they seem lost. I've been asked, "Do you work here?" "No, no I'm just a frequent flyer."

Here is my surgeon talking about why we are doing a lumpectomy. A mastectomy was never an option for me as it is simply not necessary.

And my Covid test is negative. :)