Thursday, August 22, was a day packed with appointments. The first one was for lab work as part of the genetic test. The waiting area was crowded, and I noticed that the voices calling us back were so soft that I worried I might not hear my name. Thankfully, my unique name stood out when they called it, so I didn’t miss it.
The second appointment was a meeting with my Nurse Navigator, Nurse Ruby. She was so pleasant and provided a wealth of information and resources to help me navigate this fight. I immediately felt comfortable with her, and I was grateful for all the explanations she offered. I left with a pink bag containing a patient binder, which held all the information we went over.
My last appointment of the day was the Echocardiogram. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect—I was thinking of an EKG, imagining a small paper readout of how my heart was beating. Instead, it turned out to be an ultrasound of the heart. They’re establishing a baseline of what my heart looks like now so they can monitor if chemotherapy has any effect on it later.
Sharing My Diagnosis and Finding New Connections
I decided to share my diagnosis with a few other co-workers outside of my department. I wasn’t surprised by the outpouring of support they offered—people really do care. But I’m not sure if I’ll actually reach out and accept any of it. I’ve always been independent, taking care of myself and my family, so the idea of letting others in to help makes me feel a bit helpless.
I keep hearing that this is going to be a tough journey and that everyone experiences it differently. I want to believe that I’ll be the one who won’t suffer through all the things I’ve heard about. I’m optimistic, and I’m a planner. I keep thinking I’ll plan my yard work around my treatments, as if that will somehow keep everything under control.
This weekend, I found out that I have a cousin—someone I’ve never met—who is a breast cancer survivor and advocate. We spoke, and she’s been incredibly supportive, offering me a line of communication to reach out, cry, vent, or whatever I need during this time. I told her about my appointments with Mayo so far, and it felt good to hear how reassured she was by the care I’ve been receiving.
