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The surgery was scheduled for March 23rd 2012. They did a lumpectomy and removed a lymph node for more testing, and placed a port for chemotherapy. Took about 5 hours. The did the testing during the surgery to determine how much breast tissue to take. They said the tumor is 2.5 centimeters and no cancer present in the lymph node. Yay that was good news. They say I caught it early.
Came home the same day and I'm on medical leave until further notice.
I am a emotional mess can't seam to get my self together. Lots of thoughts and things going on in my head. I now understand why I felt and though I was dying before I was diagnosed with cancer. My thyroid hormones were out of whack.
Symptoms of Hypothyroidism
Fatigue
Weakness
Weight gain or increased difficulty losing weight
Coarse, dry hair
Dry, rough pale skin
Hair loss
Cold intolerance (you can't tolerate cold temperatures like those around you)
Muscle cramps and frequent muscle aches
Constipation
Depression
Irritability
Memory loss
Abnormal menstrual cycles
Decreased libido
Each individual patient may have any number of these symptoms, and they will vary with the severity of the thyroid hormone deficiency and the length of time the body has been deprived of the proper amount of hormone.
And having very low Vitamin D it causes other problems too.
Vitamin D is an important vitamin that not only regulates calcium, but also has many other
beneficial actions. Not many endocrinologists realize this, but several articles published
over 20 years ago showed that patients with hypothyroidism have low levels of vitamin D.  
This may lead to some of the bone problems related to hypothyroidism.  It was thought that
one of two mechanisms may explain the low levels of vitamin D in patients with
hypothyroidism, 1) the low levels of vitamin D may be due to poor absorption of vitamin D
from the intestine or 2) the body may not activate vitamin D properly. Other articles have
demonstrated that patients with Graves disease also have low levels of Vitamin D.
Importantly, both vitamin D and thyroid hormone bind to similar receptors called steroid
hormone receptors. A different gene in the Vitamin D receptor was shown to predispose
people to autoimmune thyroid disease including Graves' disease and Hashimoto's
thyroiditis. For these reasons, it is important for patients with thyroid problems to
understand how the vitamin D system works. Vitamin D appears to have many effects besides being related to calcium and bone health.
Some patients with low vitamin  D levels have fatigue and bone pain, which is easily
reversible with  proper replacement of  vitamin D.  Vitamin  D may protect against heart
disease and some types of cancer. Vitamin D may also have some role in regulating the
immune system and  also reducing  blood  sugar  levels in patients with diabetes. Proper
vitamin D levels are needed to prevent osteoporosis. In conclusion, proper vitamin D levels
are essential for one's health, especially if you have thyroid problems. Unless a patient is
exposed to sunlight or foods containing vitamin D, screening for Vitamin D deficiency is
recommended for all thyroid patients.
This explains why I felt the way I did for so long. Please have your check ups and blood work done on a regular basis and have a mammogram done once a year. It is so very important.
After my lumpectomy they told me I was scheduled to have a balloon catheter placed in my right breast and this is how I would receive radiation. I would go and have radiation twice a day 6 hours apart for 5 days straight. They placed the catheter in on April 4th 2012 on a Wednesday in the office under local anesthesia, not very comfortable. Was painful! It's about 7 inches long with lots of wire probes sticking out of it.       
External beam radiation for breast cancer treatment usually takes 5 to 7 weeks. A new kind of brachytherapy (internal beam radiation) takes only 5 to 7 days, with great effectiveness and fewer side effects. Read about balloon catheter radiation and how it may benefit you.
Breast Radiation After Lumpectomy
Radiation is often used to treat breast cancer after your tumor has been removed. If you've had breast-conserving surgery (sometimes called a "lumpectomy"), radiation may be recommended to ensure that cancer cells that may remain in the tumor area are destroyed. Since healthy cells as well as cancer cells in the radiation area will be affected, radiation oncologists have come up with some precise ways to zap your tissues and do the least harm.





Here is a close-up view of the balloon catheter device. "A" shows where the device can be connected during treatment. To the left of the gasket, the bundle of catheters hooks up with the catheters which are inside your breast. The external catheters will be disconnected after each treatment. "B" shows the outer ring of catheters -- these remain expanded during your complete treatment period (5 to 7 days). These catheters can be expanded to custom fit your lumpectomy cavity, to provide space between your tissues and the radioactive material. "C" shows the inner ring of catheters, which will carry the radioactive seeds, when the device is connected to the machine. These seeds are removed when you are not receiving treatment

The Radiation treatments started on the following Monday at 7:30 am for about 5 min. the next on same day at 3:00pm 5 min again. They gave me a cat scan before each treatment to be sure placement was correct. This was from April 9th till April 13th. They removed the device after the last treatment Friday the 13th and I was not in store for what happened next. The doctor removed it with out any pain relief or  anesthesia. Just deflated the balloon, twisted it and yanked it out! OMG that was painful. I felt the blood rush from my face and gush out my breast. They said that was the easiest way??? The skin starts to grow over the device. That's why they twist it. Yikes!
Now we are talking Chemo. They want to wait 3 weeks after radiation to do Chemo because it causes other problems. I went back to work for a few weeks before i start chemo. I would like things to go back to normal. I'm tired and worn out from all the doctor stuff. I just want to go to sleep and wake up and it's all a bad dream. But it's not, it's my new reality. They tell me my hair will fall out and I will need a wig. I cried and cried. I have always wore my hair long. This bothers me more than the chunk taken out of my breast.
Chemo starts May the 15th 2012 at 9;00 AM. Then 24 hours later I have to take a shot to boost my white blood count. The shot has side affects too, bone pain, headaches. This will be done every other week for 4 weeks, then I have 12 weeks of another drug combo every week. 16 total weeks of chemo.
The drugs they give me for the first 4 treatments are called Doxorubicin Hydrochloride solution takes 10 min. drip, then Cyclophosphamide or also called the red devil makes you pee red for a day. 45min. drip.
They give you a drip of steriods and anti-nauesa meds for 10 min. Helps with nausea and inflammation.Then in 24 hours you come back and get the shot of Pegfilgrastim to boost white blood count. It has side affects too. Bone pain and headaches
This is where I am today: I'm on my second round of chemo. The side effects are horrendous. I will talk more on this in my next chapter " The side effects of chemo and will I survive "
Drugs for chemo :  Doxorubicin also called Adriamycin. Conventional doxorubicin: Treatment (in combination with otherantineoplastic agents) of breast cancer.
Combination chemotherapy, as adjunct to surgery, increases disease-free (i.e., decreased recurrence) and overall survival in premenopausal and postmenopausal women with node-negative or -positive early (TNM stage I or II) breast cancer.
Adjuvant combination chemotherapy that includes cyclophosphamide,methotrexate, and fluorouracil has been used most extensively and is considered a regimen of choice for early breast cancer, but doxorubicin-containing regimens (e.g., combined cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin with or without fluorouracil; combined cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin with or without tamoxifen) appear to be comparably effective and also are considered regimens of choice; differences in toxicity profiles may influence choice of regimen.
In stage III (locally advanced) breast cancer, commonly employed effective regimens (with or without hormonal therapy) used sequentially after surgery and radiation therapy for operable disease and afterbiopsy and radiation therapy for inoperable disease include cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil; cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and fluorouracil; and cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, fluorouracil, and prednisone; combined cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin therapy also has been used. These and other regimens have been used in treatment of more advanced (stage IV) and recurrent disease.

I was diagnosed with Breast cancer on February 28th 2012  I want to share my story. I have been a healthy person up until 2009. Something changed for me. July 2009 I had a lump appear under my right arm an my chest wall. It was a rapid growing mass. The doctor diagnosed it as a Lipoma
A lipoma is a benign tumor composed of adipose tissue. It is the most common form of soft tissuetumor.[1] Lipomas are soft to the touch, usually movable, and are generally painless. Many lipomas are small (under one centimeter diameter) but can enlarge to sizes greater than six centimeters. Lipomas are commonly found in adults from 40 to 60 years of age, but can also be found in children. Some sources claim that malignant transformation can occur,[2] while others say that this has yet to be convincingly documented.[3]
Mine was not cancer removal went well. Back to work in 3 days.
Then in 2010 I had terrible bleeding problems due to my menstrual cycles went on for most of the year. My doctor had lots of test run and they found in a sonogram a large mass in my Uterus.
In December 2010 went through a Hysterectomy and the mass was not cancerous. Felt so much better. Now I was very anemic and on iron. Missed a month of work but recovered well.


Finally feeling stronger and better than ever, something again changed. Mid year 2011  I started to feel tired and run down again. I have had hypothyroidism for many years and has been well managed, but when I went for blood work and a check up they found my levels were off, and my vitamin D was very low, so the increased my dose of thyroid  medication and put me on Vitamin D 2000IU a day. All seamed well. Then as the new year rolled around I turned 52 years old. I was having problems with brain fog and feeling unwell again. I was getting weaker and more fatigued just thought wit was because I was getting older. Steve my husband and I have always taken a winter vacation to Oklahoma. We love to visit the Bald Eagle wintering area of Keystone State Park, near Tulsa Oklahoma. It has been a annual trip for many years. During or trip in January 2012 I started feeling bad, thought i may need a ER trip. But it passed and we came home all seamed well.
Then One morning in the shower I found a lump in my right breast. I had the feeling of dread.
It was February 13th 2012, made a appointment the next day with my doctor. I hadn't told anyone yet. I was really thinking I was far advanced in cancer, because of the way I was feeling.
My Appointment was February 21st 2012. I was due for more blood work for my thyroid too. They set me up with a mammogram the next week. I went home and cried.
I finally told my husband and daughters. We all cried, but hoping it was like the last few problems and it would be just another scare and everything would be alright. Lots of prayers were said. My Blood work came back and my thyroid level was way off. My normal level is 1.6 the results were 6.7 so they changed my dose again, and the vitamin D level was way low again. They prescribed me 50,000IU a week to help my numbers. Common in breast cancer and Hypothyroidism. Never knew that.
Then I had a biopsy to send off for testing. Waiting for the call you don't want to here.
I received the call on February 28th 2012 it was breast cancer. I was home alone at the time and I just broke down and cried.   
The next appointment was to see the Breast surgeon Dr Kerri Perry, we are doing a lumpectomy, with a lymph removal for more testing. Surgery is scheduled for March 23th 2012.
My official diagnoses is " Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, Grade 3 with Chondriod Matrix ( Metaplastic Carcinoma) Her2 Negitive, also called Triple negative Breast Cancer.

Tends to be more aggressive than other types of breast cancer. Studies have shown that triple-negative breast cancer is more likely to spread beyond the breast and more likely to recur (come back) after treatment. These risks appear to be greatest in the first few years after treatment. For example, a study of more than 1,600 women in Canada published in 2007 found that women with triple-negative breast cancer were at higher risk of having the cancer recur outside the breast — but only for the first 3 years. Other studies have reached similar conclusions. As years go by, the risks of the triple-negative breast cancer recurring become similar to those risk levels for other types of breast cancer.

Five-year survival rates also tend to be lower for triple-negative breast cancer. A 2007 study of more than 50,000 women with all stages of breast cancer found that 77% of women with triple-negative breast cancer survived at least 5 years, versus 93% of women with other types of breast cancer. Another study of more than 1,600 women published in 2007 found that women with triple-negative breast cancer had a higher risk of death within 5 years of diagnosis, but not after that time period. The recurrence and survival figures in these and other studies are averages for all women with triple-negative breast cancer. Factors such as the grade and stage of the breast cancer will influence an individual woman's prognosis.
Tends to be higher grade than other types of breast cancer. The higher the grade, the less the cancer cells resemble normal, healthy breast cells in their appearance and growth patterns. On a scale of 1 to 3, triple-negative breast cancer often is grade 3.
Usually is a cell type called "basal-like." "Basal-like" means that the cells resemble the basal cells that line the breast ducts. This is a new subtype of breast cancer that researchers have identified using gene analysis technology. Like other types of breast cancer, basal-like cancers can be linked to family history, or they can happen without any apparent family link. Basal-like cancers tend to be more aggressive, higher grade cancers — just like triple-negative breast cancers. It's believed that most triple-negative breast cancers are of the basal-like cell type.
It can feel upsetting and even scary to find out that you have a form of breast cancer that (1) is often more aggressive than other types and (2) isn't a good candidate for treatments such as hormonal therapy and Herceptin. But triple-negative breast cancer can be treated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and new treatments — such as PARP inhibitors — are showing promise. Researchers are paying a great deal of attention to triple-negative breast cancer and working to find new and better ways to treat it. "This is an exceptionally hot area of research in the breast cancer field," says George Sledge, M.D., medical oncologist and Breastcancer.org Professional Advisory Board member. "There is immense interest among drug developers, pharmaceutical companies, and breast cancer laboratory researchers in finding targeted therapies for these patients."
More to come on the next chapter of my journey with breast cancer." The Surgery" and after .

Steve and I Just returned from our annual cabin trip. We stayed at keystone lake state park, Oklahoma for 4 days & 3 nights. The Bald eagle winters there. The arkansas River is a favorite hang out for the eagles. They Fish from the base of the dam at keystone lake. We discovered there are 3 nest now on the river bank. So we know there will be more eagles next year. 3 Pairs working ond nests.
Wow That's exciting. Looking foward to returning.
                    Ms. Jennifer Newman