What a way to start a blog post....oh well, life moves on! So here is the timeline (for those who want to know, and also so we can remember ourselves what has transpired)

• 8 Years ago - Valerie's Dad successfully beats Bladder cancer.
• 3 Years ago - Valerie's Mom successfully beats Breast cancer.
• June 26, 2006 - Valerie is diagnosed with Breast Cancer by Dr. Senofsky at the Breast Institute in Valencia, CA.
• June 27, 2006 - Met with Dr. Barstis to discuss the diagnosis and possible treatment. Dr. Barstis will be the physician responsible for all after surgery treatment (like chemotherapy and radiation).
• June 28, 2006 - Valerie turns 35 (she will likely shoot me for including a number...oh well!). Valerie undergoes a PET (Like CT, but full body) scan for any other cancer in her body. In addition to the one centimeter (about 1/2 and inch) lump in her right breast they find it in the Lymph Nodes as well as two suspicious spots on her Liver. We then meet her doctors who are amazing and try to put our restless minds at ease. Dr. Senofsky will be the Oncologist surgeon and Dr. Watson will be the Reconstruction surgeon, both from UCLA Medical Center.
• June 30, 2006 - Valerie undergoes an MRI to look more closely at the two Liver spots, which we find out are nothing, just spots! Dion names them Budweiser and Corona!
• July 3, 2006 - We meet with Dr. Senofsky to ask more questions and set a surgery date. Here are some of the details as of today: Surgery is set for July 12, 2006 at UCLA Medical Center. She will be in surgery for an estimated 8 hours and will not be allowed visitors until Thursday, July 13 or Friday, July 14. She will be hospitalized for 4-5 days. She will not have implants due to possible radiation treatment. Dr. Watson will perform a DIEP flap for the reconstruction. She is having a double Mastectomy with 12-15 Lymph Nodes being removed from the right side as well. Why choose a double Mastectomy? Based on family history, age and not wanting to live in fear of wondering when the next lump would appear, Valerie made the decision (with both doctors concurrence) to remove both breasts. Chemotherapy will start 3 weeks after surgery and will last for 5-9 months (depends on what they find during pathology). Yes, she will lose her hair....and no she is not happy about this. Dr. Senofsky tells us he is very optimistic and almost guarantees Valerie will beat this, and that she will have NO cancer once the treatment is done. The best news, but still doesn't make it much easier to deal with.....only friends and family make it easier to deal with!
• July 4, 2006 - After a restful weekend at Carpinteria State Beach (thank you to all who visited, those visits meant a lot!), we watched (Valerie watched, Dion got suckered into leading) the Carpinteria State Beach 4th of July Parade. Happy Birthday America!
• July 5, 2006 - Starting to find some great information on the web, not just horror stories! Here is a lady that had a similar surgery by Valerie's same doctors.
• July 6, 2006 - Met with Dr. Watson to finalize what procedure would be done for reconstruction. After much discussion and personal struggle, Valerie made the decision to have larger breasts when she has beat the cancer. What a hard and seemingly selfish decision to make. Here doctors tell us they will save her life, then a couple days later we have the gall to ask "can you make them bigger?" (side note - I am and will be happy with whatever my wife has, as long as she is here with me!). Valerie struggled the most with this inner battle. Dr. Watson, his staff and the wonderful psychologists at Ted Mann Family Resource Center assure Valerie her feelings are natural, yet a completely normal and healthy request. This is something she had debated doing for the past 12 years, yet put off so she could breast feed our children and then put off again after her mother had breast cancer. I think she deserves it, and am happy she had the strength emotionally to ask for this for herself! This changes the whole surgery and recovery plan, so here goes. Valerie's surgery will only last 4 hours and her hospital stay will be shortened to 2-3 days at the most. If you would like to visit, feel free to do so on Thursday, July 13 or Friday, July 14 (not too late as she may be discharged), visiting hours are 10 AM to 9 PM. You can call Valerie at the hospital by calling the main operator at (310)825-8611 during visiting hours.
• July 8, 2006 - Valerie does a little wig shopping with Judy H. (Cancer survivor as well!) and her mother. Pictures below, and we could use your help! Place your vote on the right....and since I moderate this blog, I can tell you if anyone votes for number one, I will delete it! (Just kidding, we do live in America, pick your favorite, we'll still pick what we want!)
• July 9, 2006 - Some of the days highlights.....Valerie's friend Kelly is walking in a Cancer walk in September, we know Kelly very well and know (and enjoy!) her sense of humor, for those that don't know her humor, all donations truly go to Cancer research not Kelly. Some have asked what is the meaning behind the song that played on this blog (Bad Day by Daniel Powter). It is a story about a woman having a bad day who meets her man also having a bad day, but ready to be the support or positive influence she needs, you can view the video here. Our son laid in his mom's arms and stroked her hair.....then said "Mom, I don't want you to lose your hair" as he gave her a kiss. The kids know quite a bit, and we have done our best to keep them informed with long talks, books and honest answers. Some things you just don't need to tell little children, and so we do our best to highlight the positives along with some of the realities (like losing hair!).
• July 10, 2006 - Valerie is off to Girl Scout Camp with our daughter.
• July 11, 2006 - Surgery is tomorrow at 10:30 AM and Valerie should be out and in her room by 4:30 PM. I'll be waiting patiently for her! Anyone wanting to chat, I'll have my last few non-busy (but thought filled) hours. I will do my best to let everyone know how she did, hopefully with an update here as soon as I see the doctor (or better yet her!).
• July 12, 2006 - Surgery today!