I haven’t written in a while because life has been so big and full post-treatment. I spent most of April recovering from radiation, but our summer was spectacular. We went to Cleveland for Rory’s 20th HS reunion, had family visit, went to Montana for the entire month of July and went on several vacations in August with friends. But like most people, the fall represents a return to reality. And right now, for me, reality means more surgery.

I had to wait 6 months post radiation to have my breast reconstruction surgery, so I went under the knife two days ago (Oct 2nd) and had my ovaries removed at the same time. Because I have the BRCA 2 mutation, ovarian cancer is a real concern, and is impossible to detect, so the recommendation was to have my ovaries removed before my 45th birthday. I decided to do both surgeries at once now because A) we’ve hit our deductible for the year and I wanted to minimize out of pocket costs and B) I didn’t want two rounds of downtime and C) I’ve been getting Lupron shots monthly to suppress my ovaries (since my cancer is estrogen receptive), and I want to get off of pharmaceutical drugs where possible.

During the next 4 weeks of recovery I can’t lift more than 8 lbs, (so I cannot pick up either of our sons), I can’t raise my arms above shoulder height, and I can’t do any household chores (no vacuuming or laundry, etc). That said I’m pretty mobile, and can walk, but I just have these useless T-Rex arms for the next month. As you can imagine, it’s incredibly disruptive to our young family (as nice as it is for me to have a reprieve from household chores).

That said, I’m SO incredibly lucky to have the support system that I do. My brother is in town for the week to help around the house and with the kids while I’m incapacitated, and my dad arrives this weekend to take over once Brandon leaves. My broader friend network has also set up a meal train for us so we don’t have to cook for the next couple of weeks. For those of you going through something hard, always take the help, and if it’s not offered, ask for it. No one should have to face these things alone.

So far this recovery has been far easier than the double mastectomy – even with the addition of stitches in my abdomen from the oophorectomy. I’m gradually weaning myself off of the Oxy (I really only use them at night to help me sleep) and will hopefully graduate to regular pants soon. Though I need constant reminders to take it easy, which is hard for me.

I’d definitely recommend doing the surgeries simultaneously to anyone in a similar situation. Neither of my surgical sites is unbearably painful – instead it’s more of a dull ache with the occasional sharp pain if I do something dumb. That said, the meds are definitely medding.