In a "best kind of bad news" situation, I learned earlier this month that I have breast cancer. But the "best" part of the equation is that is what they call Stage 0, non-invasive Ductal Carcinoma In Situ. It was discovered in a routine mammogram, and followed up on with a biopsy and a breast MRI. I also had genetic testing done and learned that I don't have any genetic predisposition for breast cancer that they can tell.
While this certainly isn't the best news ever, it is going to be okay. I am scheduled to have what they're now calling Breast Conservation Surgery, or what more people call a lumpectomy, on January 7. A few weeks after that I will have radiation treatments...duration not yet determined. I should be fine after that, I hope. It is a strange situation, and scary, but we will get through it and then I hope it'll just be a Thing That Happened and that'll be it.
Meanwhile we celebrated Christmas in this weird pandemic year. The Mitchells all went to the river (with the exception of Stevie's family, who wanted to have Christmas in their new home), and the Sharps/Borcherdings did their own thing. In more difficult health news, my Dad was scheduled for a heart procedure and needed to quarantine in preparation for that, so we didn't see the Wenzells either. [Note to add: the exploratory procedure revealed that he will need to have bypass surgery in the coming weeks to correct blockages. I hope that does the trick.] Jim came up from Florida, but because we were also trying to minimize our interactions with people outside our home, we didn't see him much. He came over Christmas morning for breakfast, and we had windows open and fans on, and he wore his mask when he wasn't eating. How strange to live this way. We also met up with him at his condo in Reston and did a nice walk on the bike trail.
Other than that, it was just the four of us (well, six of us including Shelby and Eddie), as it's been since March. We watched Elf on Christmas Eve, and I really enjoyed the fact that we weren't running around all over as we usually do. Christmas morning was mostly us, as I said, and then we had a nice Christmas dinner with just the four of us.
It has been hard for everyone to be so isolated this year. I truly hope the coronavirus vaccine will be readily available enough in the next year that we can get back to our usual celebrations next year. Fingers crossed.
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