One week (or so). Within approximately a week, I will have a third baby girl in my arms. It seems long at times, yet not long enough to prepare and enjoy the last times my current baby will be my baby.
And not enough time before BRCA becomes a reality. I've put off surgeries to do this. To cherish one more round of baby kicks, to breastfeed, to complete our family. But once she is here, it will be time to make some decisions and create a timeline.
We've already laid the groundwork. All of the OBs I've seen and my oncologist know that by 6 weeks post partum, I want my tubes out -- a procedure called a salpingectomy. I'm not ready for the full monty because I fear menopause and have zero desire to see how that goes when I'm also post partum. No need to shuffle my hormones more than necessary, right?
The new theory, as well, is that as many as 75% of ovarian cancer cases actually start in the fallopian tubes, not the ovaries themselves. So, for me, this is my first real step toward beating cancer to the punch. If they were to find anything precancerous or concerning, then further steps will be taken.
And right now, not holding a baby in my arms, my tentative plan is to breastfeed for 6 months and wean in preparation for a mastectomy in December 2016. The surgeons I want recommend being done breastfeeding for at least 4 months and, ideally, 6 months. By then, my older daughters will be 6 and 4 and hopefully able to process the time I'll need to recover.
I've managed to get through this pregnancy with only one scare, one breast ultrasound where I mentally freaked out (though the young, male resident attempting small talk about pregnant breasts did manage to make me laugh). I feared it would be more. I suppose it still may be with breastfeeding.
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| Three across! |
But we are finally at a point where the excitement of meeting the final piece of our family puzzle is, for me, outweighing the BRCA worries. For the time being.
What will she look like? What will we name her? How will she fit with her sisters? Is she really doing tai chi or yoga in there and will she maintain her zen? So many questions to which I can't wait to find out the answers.
Come on, baby girl, we're just about ready.
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