OK folks were home from the hospital , Bink is in her night clothes drinking vitamin C water . The day started off early real early , checking in was a breeze . We wated till around 12:15 when she went in the surgery room . Mom Barb , Mom Wilcox ,Aunt Linda and Mrs.Anne were all there for support .I went to the evergreen for chinese ,everyone else ate in the hospital (YUK).At around 2:45 she went into recovery ,Dr.Shaik informed me at that time the surgery went very well , they removed a Quarter sized tumor (cancer) , 2 enflamed limphnodes for safety. She was in recovery for awhile , til 6:00pm. We are now home and waiting for my MOM to bring us food (love my mom) and BK .Binks nest is already for her to try and get some sleep tonight . Well see everyone tommorow and PS call anyone who might want info about today , Love Ya All Rob Wilcox.

Hi there - It's me

Ok, it's all done. Just got home - was at the hospital from 7 til 6. He said the tumor looked smaller than he expected and they took two lymph nodes. The incision looks to be about 5 inches. The dye hurt like crazy and now i'm turning into a smurfette (my skin has a bluish tint to it :) ). I've had some morphine shots so I'm not feeling any pain right now and Carol is bringing home my Vicodin (woohoo) and some food. I find out Wednesday the 7th what the next steps are.

Rob will be on tonight with another update. But for now --- I'm home and am thankful for all your prayers -- because they worked.

So It's February 27th - 6:10am

We're getting ready to leave for the hospital. Can't say we're both not scared but we have such incredible friends and family members helping us at every turn of the way. Your prayers have done so much to strength Rob and I as we begin this journey.

We want you to know how very blessed we feel to call you all FRIENDS.... We love you :)

OK this is Rob , After trying to sign on for the last hour or so I finaly got it . Well il be taking the wheel for a while and giving everyone updates as they are available . I have taken Monday the 2/26 through Fri off to be with Belinda before and after her surgery ,after great thought she has the best Surgen-DR.Shaik and other medical staff . Well enough for tonight.

PreAdmission Testing - Went Well

I meant to say I am NOW ready for what is coming on Tuesday. Sorry for that little FREUDIAN slip :)

PreAdmission Testing - Went Well

So, I guess it's good to know that my lungs are CLEAR!!! I was a little concerned but my Xrays were good the tech said. My EKG was also excellent and I am not ready for the things to come on Tuesday. I am gonna beat this - Cuz I'm stronger than CANCER!

So here's more information

I started having pain in my left breast on Saturday February 3rd, on the way home from the boys birthday party at Build-a-Bear in Syracuse NY. The pain got worse on Sunday February 4th and so on Monday February 5th I was at the OB/GYN at 10:30am. She did a manual breast exam and found nothing. To be on the safe side - she sent me on Tuesday February 6th for a mammogram at the hospital so that the radiologist would be right there to read my films. Not too long after, the mammography tech came in and said that the radiologist wanted an ultrasound. While watching the ultrasound, I saw an area (about 2 cm) on the screen. It was very hard to find but the ultrasound tech helped me find it and then sure enough - there it was - I could feel it. Original speculation was that it was a fluid filled cyst and so I went off to see the surgeon (Dr Shaikh) who also did a manual breast exam and couldn't feel the lump. He suggested that I be scheduled for an ultrasound guided Fine Needle Aspiration - which I had on Monday February 19th (the first opportunity) at the hospital. The radiologist could not get any fluid out as the lump was a solid tumor and so they did a core biopsy. At that time, I asked him to tell me what he thought about what he saw and he told me that I had real reasons to be concerned. The lump was irregular in shape and thickness and the samples were very heavy and sank in the sample jar. I left there pretty much knowing that I had breast cancer. I saw the surgeon again on Wednesday February 21st and he confirmed that. What I have is called "Poorly Differentiated Invasive Intraductal Carcinoma". On a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the most aggressive cancer that there is - mine is a 3. I am now scheduled for a lumpectomy on Tuesday February 27th at 11am. I am going to the hospital at 8am though to also have radio-active isotopes injected into my breast to see if my lymph system is at all involved. This is called a Sentinel Node Biopsy. If the sentinel node is not infected, they won't take any of the lymph nodes. They know this by seeing if the dye "lights up" the lymph node. If it is, they take out the ones that are 'hot'. Then everything is sent to pathology and they do lots of tests. The results of those tests will tell the Oncologist what types of drugs to use, how much, and how long. I will be having both chemo and radiation. Anytime the lump is bigger than 1cm - chemo is the standard. Radiation is always a standard with any breast cancer. That's what I know right now and what is going to happen. I hope this helps answer any questions you might have. Please check back often for updates as this is the easiest way for us to keep you posted. Love to all of you :)

Bink's Place

Hi Everyone!!!
This is my post board for my friends and family to keep them informed about my breast cancer - surgery, prognosis, and treatment. We will post things here periodically to keep you all informed as to how it is going.