[2023-08-16] Breast surgery follow-up and CA125
I had a follow-up with Dr. Cordeiro today at The Ottawa Hospital's Breast Health Centre. Both she and her associate, Dr. Eum, noted that I am recovering well from my two surgeries. Dr. Eum said that my mobility is good, that I am where she would expect me to be, and that I should regain full mobility over time.
We spoke briefly about the infection I had that ultimately compromised one implant, requiring its removal. Dr. Cordeiro noted that infection is always a risk of surgery, despite all the efforts medical professionals take to minimize that risk. Once I developed the fever and noted external signs that something was amiss, the infection was probably already well established. She reinforced that there was nothing I did or failed to do that would have changed the outcome. The same was true of the medical professionals involved.
The conversation reminded me of previous discussions with Dr. Cordeiro and Dr. Frank, the first plastic surgeon I had met with at The Ottawa Hospital. In 2b goes on, I wrote: "The first risk Dr. Cordeiro mentioned was bleeding and infection—risks that are common to all surgeries. Such risks materialize in about 4-5% of mastectomy surgeries." And in 2b continued, I noted a similar risk mentioned by Dr. Frank: "I could experience a breast infection, which would likely come to light within 1-2 weeks of surgery, necessitating a second operation. In such a case, the surgery would take less time (1-2 hours) and the recovery would be faster (1-2 weeks) than with the original operation." This is exactly what happened.
Dr. Cordeiro confirmed what I had read in my pathology report, namely that no cancer was found in the breast tissue removed during surgery. Consequently, my treatment by Dr. Cordeiro and the Breast Health Centre is now over. Any follow-up regarding my reconstruction will be done by Dr. Zhang and the plastic surgery department.
After the doctors left the examining room, Nurse Kayley appeared with a pamphlet on exercises to do after breast surgery. I asked:
— Are you going to assess my mobility?
— Oh no. I'm just a nurse. I'll leave that to the physiotherapists.
— No one is ever just a nurse. Nurses are angels. Nurses are the backbone of the medical system.
— Oh I feel so special now.
I took the opportunity of being at the Cancer Centre to get my monthly blood work for ovarian cancer done. I'm happy to share that my CA125 remains at 9, low and steady—and now a full three years since I was originally diagnosed with ovarian cancer in July 2020.
That ovarian cancer diagnosis led to the discovery of my BRCA2 gene mutation, which led to my decision to have a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy. As I said to Dr. Cordeiro today, regardless of what happens with my reconstruction in the future, the fact remains that the mastectomy reduced my risk of breast cancer to one-tenth of what it was previously. My conversation with Nurse Kayley convinced me that I had made the right decision.
