Fitting Day

Mary Jo had her appointment today to be fitted for a custom fit compression arm sleeve.  Since Mary Jo had 22 lymph nodes removed from under her arm in the her right axillary area during her double mastectomy, she is at risk of developing at any time a condition called lymphedema.  The compression sleeve was recommended by Mary Jo's Lymphedema councilor to be worn at all times during even moderately strenuous activity and especially when Mary Jo is traveling on an airplane.  A pressurized cabin is about the worst thing for a person who is at risk of developing Lymphedema but the compression sleeve is a good and necessary tool to keep the condition under control.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we have so much to be thankful for this year.  Mary Jo and I can never express in words how deeply touched we have been by all our friends and family who have offered their prayers and support.  We are truly blessed. 

Consultation Day

Mary Jo and I had a consultation today with spinal specialist orthopedic surgeon, Dr Jeffrey Dick at his Edina office of Twin Cities Orthopedics.  Dr Dick examined Mary Jo and questioned her extensively to try to determine the source of Mary Jo's pain in her left shoulder and numbness in her arm and hand.  After reviewing the previous CT scans and the written report from the radiologist, Dr Dick suggested a Cortisone  injection into Mary Jo's left shoulder.  If within an hour after the injection, Mary Jo experiences at least 75% relief from the pain symptoms, then Dr Dick believes the source to be "inflammation in the bursa area associated with the rotator cuff".  If less than 75% relief had been experienced, the next step would have been to do an injection in the C7 vertebra of Mary Jo's neck.  Mary Jo did feel she had pretty significant relief from the injection so Dr Dick will likely be prescribing some sort of physical therapy and a consultation with our usual orthopedic surgeon Dr William Simonet to look at Mary Jo's shoulder.


model patient



Inspiring video on persevering

Doctor Follow Up Visit

Mary Jo had a two week post op follow up visit with her plastic surgeon, Dr Jacqueline Luong at Dr Luong's Midwest Plastic Surgery clinic in Burnsville yesterday morning.  Dr Luong examined Mary Jo and her nurse photographed Mary Jo for the post op "after" photos.  There were two sutures that required some slight trimming but otherwise everything was as good or better than what could have been expected for a reconstruction patient who had radiated tissues as part of the treatment process for stage IIIb breast cancer.  Mary Jo is not complaining of any pain associated with the last surgery performed by Dr Luong however the issue with her neck is the next medical hurdle she will have to deal with.  Mary Jo's oncologist, Dr Gall discovered through the order of a CT scan that Mary Jo has bulging discs in her C4 and C5 (the lower portion of her neck) causing her pain and discomfort.  It was at the time a welcome relief to us that the scan discovered this degenerative tissue rather than a life threatening progression of cancer to Mary Jo's bones.  Mary Jo had been finding some relief by going to Dr Michael Kennedy,  Chiropractic Kinesiolgist for adjustments however, Mary Jo had to put Dr Kennedy's treatment sessions on hold during the recovery period from the last surgery.  Mary Jo is now scheduling a consultation with spinal orthopedic specialist Dr Jeffery Dick to see what can be done to more permanently remedy the bulging disc problem. 

Mary Jo's sister Anne had her prophylactic double mastectomy surgery performed yesterday afternoon in Omaha hospital and is recovering there today.  Please join us and pray for a speedy recovery for Anne.  Having a prophylactic surgery is the most aggressive way of reducing a BRCA2 carriers chances of developing breast cancer and Mary Jo and I are so thankful that Anne choose the most aggressive procedure currently available to reduce the alarming statistics.  The BRCA2 gene that Mary Jo and Anne carry give the women an 87% chance of developing breast cancer by the age of 70.

Today is election day.  Mary Jo and I urge everyone to exercise their rights as an American and get out there and vote for the candidates of your choice.


Anne and Mary Jo



Feeling Good

Mary Jo is recovering at home and improving more everyday from her most recent surgery last Tuesday.  She is feeling pretty good today and she claims to be almost pain free just six days since she underwent two simultaneous surgeries for the removal of her Purple Power Port and for the second and final stage of breast reconstruction after last year’s radical mastectomy which her surgeons remove both of her breasts.   Mary Jo had discovered on July 4th of 2009 what turned out to be a 2.2 cm Invasive Lobular Carcinoma ILC tumor on her right breast and a 9mm Invasive Ductal Carcinoma or IDC (which is a different type of invasive breast cancer) in Mary Jo's left breast.  Here we are a little more than a year later and we are thankfully looking at a beautiful bright light at the end of what was a long dark tunnel.  Today is undeniably a time to celebrate but we will continue to be vigilant with oncology doctor follow up visits for years to come because Mary Jo was a stage IIIb cancer patient.  She cancer had a number of elements that continue to make her a high risk patient,  such as MJ is  HER2+, carries the BRCA2 mutation, had a 2.2 cm ILC tumor that had spread to 9 lymph nodes and she unclear surgical margins on the 9 mm IDC tumor.  The next doctor visit will be a routine follow up visit with Dr Luong (Mary Jo's plastic surgeon) next week to see how Mary Jo is doing post op.  Mary Jo and I feel very blessed to have so many friends and family praying for the wonderful outcome that god has blessed us with throughout this most challenging year and a half of our lives so far.


Kevin and Mary Jo today



All Done, All Good

Mary Jo is doing well and resting at home this afternoon.  Mary Jo went into the Burnsville Fairview Ridges Hospital O.R. today at precisely 9:20am.  Her plastic surgeon, Dr. Jacquline Luong performed the last stage of the two stage breast reconstruction surgery after the mastectomy by removing the temporary tissue expander's and replacing them with the permanent Mentor memory gel silicone implants.  Dr Luong also surgically removed the Power Port, which was vital throughout Mary Jo's 52 weeks of I.V. chemo therapy and Herceptin treatments.  Dr. Luong called me into the briefing room at 10:15am to explain that everything went well during the surgery and that Mary Jo will be in the post op recovery for an additional hour and a half before being moved into a stage II recovery room.  Once she is moved to a stage II recovery room, myself, Diane, my mother Del and Jamie would be able to see Mary Jo prior to her being released to go home.  Mary Jo is such a trooper.  She is not complaining of any significant pain.  She said the only thing that was bugging her was the incisions from the removal of the power port, which is a few inches below her left clavicle.  We want to thank everyone for all the prayers sent our way.  Everything went better than expected during the procedure today and we know all the prayers were answered.

Mary Jo and Jamie in recovery

Surgery Day

Mary Jo is in the operating room at the Burnsville Fairview Ridges Hospital right now.  She was in very good spirits, laughing and telling jokes with her mom and her sister Michelle in the pre-op.  Our plastic surgeon, Dr. Luong is running about 30 minutes behind schedule from her previous surgery so the actual surgery started at 9:20am.  Dr. Luong explained to Mary Jo and I in pre-op that the surgical procedure is expected to take about an hour and a half and then Mary Jo will be in post-op recovery for about an hour.  Dr. Luong will brief me in the O.R. consultation room after she completes the surgery. 


MJ in the hospital lobby





MJ going into surgery at 9:20am



MJ joking around in pre-op