Update

So I didn't initially want to divulge information about a third surgery I had in September (maybe I felt a little vain?), but it's part of my journey and I think it's important that it's included with my story. The surgery was "minor" compared to the other two I'd previously had, however I think it came in as 2nd on the pain scale. Dr. Heinrich (still an amazing surgeon) did a little bit of scar revision and fat grafting (gross, right?), where she sucked fat (not nearly enough in my opinion) from my stomach and hips and flushed it around my implants to give them a softer, more balanced look. I'm extremely pleased with the results, and am SO ready to be done with procedures! No more!

The oncologist I'd been meeting with since day 1 left the health system that my insurance covers, so I met with a new oncologist, Dr. Murphy. She specializes in young women who are diagnosed with breast cancer, and immediately I noticed a difference between the two. She brought up the family aspect (we'd wanted to start ours just before I was diagnosed) and offered to revisit starting one sooner than later (not yet though). I'm not sure how I feel about that just yet - going off tamoxifen is terrifying, especially if the goal is pregnancy which would give me an overload of hormones, but it was beyond nice to hear a doctor who actually looked at it from my perspective instead of immediately jumping into statistics.

Jason and I did the Making Strides walk again this year (in October) and I'm happy to say we raised just under $1,000 for the cause thanks to my family and friends. Feels great to be part of an event that is bigger than just my experience!

That's all (for now)!
Cassie

ACS Newsletter

I'll update on personal matters later tonight or tomorrow but wanted to pass this on from the American Cancer Society; all are great, inspiring reads. Also, on the awareness end of things, be sure to check out the article on knowing your breasts.

Hope everyone's having a great week!

Huge Success!

Yesterday a team of 12 awesome friends and family joined me in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk.  It was a gorgeous, crisp fall day and the event had a great turn out! 

Here's a general breakdown on how much money was raised:

• Personal Fundraising: $1,160
• Team Fundraising: $1,950 (plus the contributions of three new team members who joined the day of)
• Total raised by the 1,492 participants: $187,058

It's crazy how generous people are, and it's so great to know that the money is going to such a good cause.  Here are a couple snapshots taken from Julie (thank goodness she was on top of it because I certainly wasn't!):

Top: Team Schober! 
Bottom, left to right: my sister Erin and I; Jason's sticker; Julie (the photographer) and I

Great way to start a Saturday :)

NBD Countdown: 24 days!

It's October!

I have to start out by saying how awesome my family, friends and coworkers are!  In less than a week we've blown past my initial fundraising goal of $250 and are sitting at $495 with 11 days to go!!  That's $5 short of half of the team goal of $1,000 I set! Your generosity is fantastic - keep spreading the word!

I attended my second breast cancer support group this afternoon, and I have to admit it was kind of a downer compared to the nutrition/fitness conversation we had last month.  Some of the ladies are having a really tough time and it makes me thankful that I have the love of so many people to help me get through everything. 

One thing that stuck with me (maybe it's because I'm new to being part of the breast cancer club) was that one of the group members said she has a hard time every October during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Everyone is so focused on it and somehow everything turns pink, and she has a hard time with the constant reminder of her experience.  I guess I never looked at it that way, but I get her point of view.  I feel like it's a month for people to be more active for the cause, donate a little and maybe reach out and help someone who may be battling the disease. 

As I left the meeting, I noticed I had a message from Ashley (my gene counselor) at the Breast Center.  (I was in the Breast Cancer suite when she called me - wish I would've bumped into her!)  She left a message saying she has "good news" and that I should call her when I can.  It was already after hours so I'll call her back tomorrow, but I'm trying to decide what her good news is.  Here's how I see it:

1. I have a mutated BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene that caused me to have breast cancer.  In this scenario, I can have my mom and/or dad get tested and from there, alert my other family members.  I can also, after having kids, choose to have a hysterectomy and/or oopherectomy, which would eliminate my risk of ovarian cancer.  Get rid of it!
2. I don't have the mutation, and we have no idea why I got breast cancer.

Not sure which of the two scenarios I'd prefer!  I guess there are positives and negatives of both, but I wouldn't necessarily call either good!  Cancer is cancer.

New Boobs Day Countdown: 36 days!

Making Strides

Taking a break from all of the pain talk (boooo pain; it's still here), I've decided to sign up for the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk on October 12!  It'll be just a nice little morning walk compared to the 3-day (60 miles!) I did a few years ago, but this one is hitting much closer to home.  My fundraising goals are definitely doable, so I'm sharing the link here in case you haven't been on Facebook today/checked your email (I'm sorry in advance for soliciting).  Please take a moment to visit my fundraising page to contribute, or walk with me if you're in the Mpls area that weekend! Let's go Team Schober!

My Essay

Taking Dana's advice from the other night, I submitted a short essay to Fab-U-Wish. I was only able to write 150 words (super limiting the way I tend to ramble on sometimes) but I gave it my best shot:

    "In the first few days at home after my bilateral mastectomy, there’s nothing I could do to get comfortable.  My brain was fuzzy from pain meds, I had yucky drain tubes coming out of me and fresh wounds on a very sensitive part of my body.  The only way I was remotely close to feeling comfortable was walking around topless (not great in front of visitors); that is, until I was gifted Victoria’s Secret Supersoft Short PJ Set.

    I don’t need anything, so my wish is that every woman having a mastectomy could have a pair of her own. It’s a BIG wish and it’ll take some thought, collaboration and generosity.  Ideally, we could somehow get VS to pair up with the Bright Pink, the American Cancer Society and/or Susan G. Komen to gift these to women before they leave the hospital. Comfort for all! #JustThinkAboutIt #Philanthropy #Survivors"

Hopefully it's a start!

Focus

My goal with this blog from the beginning was to share my story, hoping that it would help other women in their late 20's cope with situations, feelings and decisions we're not supposed to be coping with at this age.  I feel like I've lost focus a little and I've not been keeping up with my writing as much as I had hoped to.

To start fresh after almost an entire week of not posting, I have an idea I want to put out there. An idea that I know could potentially help hundreds, maybe even thousands of young women going through what I've gone through over the last couple months.  It's an idea that definitely needs more thought, and maybe even help from others (for sure from a few huge organizations).  Please feel free to leave comments, suggestions, tips, contact information, etc if you think you can help.

Cutting to the chase (you're probably thinking, good LORD this girl is dragging on); I received a pair of these Victoria's Secret pajamas as a gift from my lovely friends Julie & Josh and basically lived in them the first couple of weeks after my surgery.  I loved them so much, I bought a pair for a family friend who had her own bilateral mastectomy a few weeks after mine.  I raved about them to my sister and because of my recommendation, she bought a pair for a client of hers who also had a mastectomy (way too many women dealing with breast cancer for one paragraph, by the way).  The pajamas are amazing, and I'm not just saying that as someone recovering from surgery; I'm sure any lady would be comfortable in them!

I've already written a raving review about these on the Victoria's Secret website (I don't see it, or any other product reviews on their website.  I hope it wasn't just for their R&D team...), but I think it'd be awesome if we could somehow get Victoria's Secret to pair up with the American Cancer Society, or Susan G. Komen to get a pair of these into the hands of every woman having a mastectomy. I plan to mention the pajamas on social media, making sure to tag the above organizations, but I need to do more. What else can I do to make this idea a reality?