A Fun Update!

I have a fun update to share today!

I went for a mammogram on Wednesday and the results were completely un-readable.  (Don't worry, that's not the fun part.)  This is.  Apparently they were un-readable because I have almost zero fat in my breast tissue.  (I have not always been this way... it's been especially true since I stopped breastfeeding.  I also eat a very healthy, low-calorie diet and I exersise regularly so that contributes to it too, I'm sure.)  ANYway, having fat interspersed throughout your breast tissue enables the scan to show a mixture of black and white.  And that allows the doctor to see concentrated areas of white (which can be indications of cancer.)

In my case, though... the scan reads solid white.  Not very helpful.  My doctor is glad I'm getting a mastecomy because, she says, the only way we'd otherwise be able to detect cancer in my case would be by feel or by MRI.

So... onto the fun news!  Dr. Abraham actually told me I'd make her job a lot easier on surgery day if I could go home and gain ten pounds before my surgery!!!  No joke!  She said that when you have a very thin layer of fat between your breast tissue and your skin, it makes it trickier to protect the arteries and nerves in the skin during surgery.  (No worries... she's not saying it makes the surgery more dangerous if you have a very thin fat layer... she's just saying it makes her job more difficult.)  Anyway, bottom line is I have legitimate doctor's orders to try and gain some sub-cutaneous fat in my breasts before May 2nd.  So...

Party Time!

I'm still exercising, because A) I love it, and B) I want to make sure my muscle tissue is healthy and an accurate representation of what is "normal" for me... since Dr. Baur will be operating on my pec muscles and prepping them to be gradually expanded this summer.  But the beauty is, I can toss caution to the wind a bit as far as my eating habits go these next few weeks.  The goal is actually to gain fat.  When have I ever been trying for that?  It's kind of a mind-bender!  Like, "Oh wait, do I really like green tea or have I always been drinking it just to burn more fat?"  (Answer: I really like it.)

Training your mind to add butter to your veggies instead of leaving it out... it's tougher than I realized!

Also worth noting: There is no guarantee that any fat I gain will deposit itself in my breasts.  (Heck, if it were possible to control that, don't you think more women would choose to put it there rather than in there bellies or under their chins?)  So my few weeks of partying may not end up doing me any good come surgery day.  Buuuut, as the doctor says... "It can't hurt to try!"

That's all for now!  Keep us in your prayers.  Chris is assembling a "dream team" of nurses, anesthesiologists, techs, etc for surgery day since he works at the hospital where they're operating on me and has connections ;)  We're feeling about as optimistic as we possibly could.  And we want God's best for us, whatever it is.