It Is What It Is

So, tonight Kaitlyn and I are co-blogging (if that's a word)and sharing our thoughts together. It's just like everything else that's going on right now....."it is what it is"!

We spent the morning doing a little shopping at Target and avoiding all food and drink venues as Kaitlyn couldn't have either of those things. Which Kaitlyn says "sucked major". We purchased Kaitlyn's I-Tunes card so she can download her songlist for chemo.

We got to Clarian North, which is slowly becoming a "home away from home" for us. The first procedure done was to inject radioactive dye into her right breast. The dye runs thru the ducts in the breast and into the lymph nodes. The first lymph nodes to show the dye are called the sentinel nodes. These are the ones they biopsy. In unrelated news the girl administering this test in the nuclear medicine lab is from Plymouth. And, she played volleyball. So, Kaitlyn had to remind her that Rochester had beat Plymouth in sectionals Kaitlyn's junior year. I'm not sure if that was wise to point out to someone who's injecting radioactive dye in to your nipple or not.

While this procedure was going on Dr. Kennedy came in to give Kaitlyn some good news. The Genetic testing results came back and Kaitlyn does not have the Breast cancer gene. Which means that she won't have to worry about about another occurence or the risk of ovarian cancer as well. This was definitely good news to our ears.

After that procedure, we went up to the second floor where the biopsy was going to be performed. Basically, we checked in and they immediately wisked Kaitlyn back to pre-op and within less than a half hour she was in surgery. Apparently they don't mess around at Clarian North. Within an hour we (Brad, Scott and I) were meeting with Dr. Kennedy. Dr. Kennedy removed two sentinel nodes. One was clean and showed no cancerous cells and the other did. So, not the news we were hoping for but if you remember the title of this blog.....It is what it is. Basically, it means that Kaitlyn will definitely have radiation after the masectomy.

Because the one lymph node had cancerous cells in it our plans for next week have changed a little. Monday we will meet with the Chemo Team but first Kaitlyn will have a bone density test and a full-body scan. Chemo will still begin on Thursday.

Kaitlyn is home now for the weekend. There's the Round Barn Festival to take in. Yes, we people in Rochester have a Festival that celebrates barns that are round. Don't judge us! We'll attend Jordan Thomas's Open House and possibly get some more tacos from Dick's Drive-In. And, Kaitlyn will probably blog on her own without her mother's assistance.

Thanks again for all of your love, concern and most importantly, your prayers.

Love, Peace and Hope,
Kaitlyn and Lisa