So, consultation with the surgeons occurred on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday at 5am we entered John C. Lincoln Hospital and the surgery began right at 7am. Just over an hour later the assisting O.R. nurse shared the fantastic news that Lori's lymph node test came back negative - no cancer cells present in the node. This was obviously great news and confirmed the findings from the earlier MRI.
Dr. O'Neill, the masectomy surgeon's work was complete around 9:30 and came out to report that her procedure went great - "textbook" were her words. Dr. O'Neill repeated the great news about the nodes being clear and the skin tissue near the removed tumor also was clear - confirming that the cancer was confined to the tumor itself.
The second surgeon began his work on reconstruction and completed his work shortly after Noon. His post-op visit with James in the waiting room provided additional great news - that his work went just as expected too! Dr. Andres was able to do his reconstruction during this surgery - which was a blessing so that Lori shouldn't need a second surgery.
Her recovery on Wednesday and Thursday went very well. Lori had some pain initially (obviously), but quickly grew to very manageable with the pain medications.
Lori was released on Thursday afternoon and is in GREAT spirits! The kids are excited to have Mom home....and Dad is too (obviously). We are all buoyed by the great news of the successful surgery and that the cancer was contained to the tumor. Details of Lori's continued treatment will be known in a few weeks, but chemotherapy will be necessary to ensure we catch any stray cancer cells that may be present and that will begin in about 4 to 6 weeks.
Lori and James thank everyone so far for the tremendous outpouring of positive thoughts, love and genuine affection for Lori and our entire family. Lori's fight ahead will be a year long plus, but we can all rejoice at the fact that although the initial findings of cancer were obviously negative, all news since then have been very positive. Let's all hope the positive news keeps rolling in!
