what a bizzare couple of weeks

July 31, 2008
Today, I felt strong enough to sit at the computer for a while. I really appreciate those of you who have been praying for me, and I apologize to those of you that didn’t get the word, but things have been a little crazy. On Friday, July 18, around 3:12, I was struck with a cellulitis infection in the breast that had been affected by cancer. It has been one of the most bizarre experiences of my life. Because so much has happened I am going to break it up into several blogs.
The most important aspect of my story is for you to learn about cellulitis. It is a condition that is not rare, but it is not common. It is serious. You are more prone to this condition if your immune system has been impaired, in my case I do not have lymph nodes on my right chest , you have diabetes or an open wound that moves into staph or strep.
Please take a moment to look at these symptoms I have copied from a University of Virginia website. If you ever experience these symptoms, get to a doctor immediately. I didn’t take action sooner, because I just couldn’t relate my symptoms to anything. I know better know.
Here is the website that I found general information about cellulitis.
http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/uvahealth/adult_derm/cell.cfm
If you would like to read about cellulitis and the breast, I found this web site from the New England journal of medicine. PLEASE BE AWARE THERE IS A VERY GRAPHIC PHOTO OF WHAT THIS CONDITION LOOKS LIKE, DON’T GO THERE IF YOU MIGHT BE OFFENDED.
One of the things that made this very scary is that there is a form of breast cancer called Inflammatory Breast Cancer. Inflammatory breast cancer usually grows in nests or sheets, rather than as a confined, solid tumor and therefore can be diffuse throughout the breast with no palpable mass. The cancer cells clog the lymphatic system just below the skin. Lymph node involvement is assumed. Increased breast density compared to prior mammograms should be considered suspicious
So we did a mammogram and an ultrasound which showed only the cellulitis. In addition I have responded to the antibiotic, which is a good sign for it not to be cancer. I will have several follow-up visits in the next 6 months for to be sure.
And now…
I spent Tuesday-Friday of last week in the hospital. I have given enough blood, I should have earned a t-short of some sort. I am undergoing 3 weeks of IV antibiotic treatment. Last Friday, they installed a picct line and sent me home with a week’s worth of antibiotic that I administer twice a day. In fact I am taking a treatment as I write this. It is really pretty simple, the drugs screw on the line.
Every day I feel a little better, the pain on my side has almost subsided. My coloring has really improved, most of the discoloration is gone from my abodomen and my breast color has drastically improved. But I tire easily. I hope to go back to work sometime next week, although managed disability has approved me to be off until 17 August, yeah!
I am going to post this to my blog, Keep checking my blog, I’ll write the details there. After all there were some pretty funny moments.
Please become familiar with the symptoms and how prone you might be to this condition. I guess the biggest lesson I learned is that if I suddenly feel really bad, there is a real reason for it and I need to check it out.