January 5, 2016.  Whom to call?   My husband wanted Froedert.  We had recommendations from our doctor for others as well.  So I made calls.  By the afternoon I was at the Breast Cancer Clinic at Froedert seeing a Nurse Practioner to determine what was going on.  Visual test #3, again inconclusive.  Maybe, maybe not, hard to tell, is that good?  Welcome Doctor #1 Surgeon.  Visually it presents as possible IBC but could be Mastitis, or infection.  I am taking antibiotics by now, just in case it is only infection.  Time to schedule test #4, a breast MRI.  The scheduling angels worked their magic and that evening I had the MRI done.  Now we wait.

Now we pray, alot.  Beg that it's not cancer and we are lucky enough to beat the odds and "only" have an infection.  Trips to the shrine, trips to church, second guessing everything.  In the meantime life goes on.  You have to go to work, talk to friends and family like nothing is wrong because you hope nothing is wrong.  We don't want to tell the kids anything because you don't want to unnecessarily upset them.  Stress?  Maybe a little.  It's been one week since I discovered something wrong.

January 6, 2016.  MRI results are back.  They don't look good.  It is still presenting like a mastitis but two nodes look suspicious.  They would like to do a punch biopsy (ouch) and some cell farming from the nodes (more ouch).  It's the only way to be sure at this point.  Finally.  I'm ready, let's get some finality on this.

January 8,  2016

Test #5, Punch biopsy done by the nurse practitioner.  They take a fat needle with a wide opening and punch your boob, then pull a worm of tissue out of your boob.  Hurts like hell.  And to be safe they did it twice, once out of the bottom of the breast to get the "Orange peel" and once out of the Areola.  Stitched up and off to test #6, cell farming by a female Doogie Houser.  She was maybe 12....

Cell farming, an ultrasound of your nodes followed by a very thin needle forced into your node, shoved around while sucking cells out in the needle to collect a "good" sample.  Once the cell guy is happy with the sample collected they stop.  Whew.  Now it's the weekend.

Time to enjoy the Admirals game and daughter #1's birthday.  A few beers at the Old German Beer Hall, a nice game, and watching the 'kids' at Dukes.  Just the ticket to take your mind off your troubles for an evening.  Then more praying and hoping.  With increasing acceptance of the inevitable.  The agreement is, there is no talk about cancer during the weekend.  Time to step back and take a short break.  Thankfully.

January 11, 2016.  Biopsies are back.  They are positive.  I have breast cancer.  I have a rare breast cancer.  Inflammatory Breast Cancer accounts for only 1 to 5 percent of all breast cancers in the United States. Link. I always knew I was a rare one.......It's been less than 2 weeks since discovery.

December 30, 2015 the day my life changed forever.  My family and I were on Christmas vacation in Florida, enjoying sunshine and warmth from the cold of Wisconsin.  Daughter #1, age 26, and her boyfriend were returning from their Disney fun of two days later that day.  Daughter #2, age 21, and my husband were looking forward to sunshine and cocktails beachside later in the afternoon.

I went in the bathroom in the morning to get ready, and for whatever reason actually looked at my breasts after my shower.  One looked different than the other, the right one.  Bruised and purplish-pink almost.  I had no lumps, I checked all the time.  There had been soreness, but I still get my period so I assumed it was near that time and the soreness was due to that.  Now I wasn't so sure.  Looking at the nipple it also looked strange, like it was infected, yellowish in color and thick.  Now I'm worried, and said out loud "Shit, I have breast cancer."  (Background, I lost my mother to breast cancer 11 years ago.  No other family history though.)  I was 2 weeks away from my annual mammogram, which I have done since I was 39 because of my mother's diagnosis.

Well, it's also family vacation and we are going to enjoy the Badger game, and the New Year's Eve on Main Street in Daytona Beach.  A call was made to make THE appointment with my doctor upon returning to WI and life went on.  Knowing now, I would have eaten more fresh seafood before I left.  Guess it will wait.  :)

January 4, 2016.  First appointment with my primary doctor.  She is as smart as they come.  In one look she told me I potentially had Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC).  The give away was the peau d'orange, orange peel skin on my breast.  We could hold out hope it was an infection since they act the same, but....she made arrangements for a mammogram and an ultrasound immediately.  Tests #1 and #2.  Mammogram, nothing.  Ultrasound, nothing unusual.  Actually was told lymphs were of a normal size of "anyone walking in off the street".  My husband and I were momentarily elated and crying.  We did question the thickness of the skin, it was inconclusively addressed.  Later in the final report a biopsy was recommended, after I had already demanded one.

A final call to the doctor confirmed the request for further diagnosis.  She gave us names of oncologists and surgeons and now it was up to us to decide where to go from here.  Elation short-lived, back to worrying.