I’m currently in Mexico having made the 2 day travel extravaganza to get here… I had one night on the plane and another in Mexico City before I then made my way to Huatulco and then Zipolite where my mum lives. I have been so excited to see my mama, and then to mentally, physically and emotionally conclude this cancer journey with 3 weeks of treatment at Sanoviv, the medical health retreat I’m booked into. I’ve still got twinges of sciatica bugging me as I write, but at least it’s not in full spasm like it was. Hopefully it survives this long trip OK (sitting for long periods aggravates it).
Last week before leaving I saw each of my medical specialists – oncologist, breast surgeon and plastic surgeon, as well as all my supportive therapies (see below). I was saying to Janek (my plastic surgeon) that I’d like to go smaller with my implant to replace the expander implant when I have further surgery at the end of this year, as my breasts were very different in size – the expander which was placed after my mastectomy in October was a lot bigger and felt quite tight. I asked if we could take some fluid out of the expander in the meantime and he agreed it would be a good idea. He located the injection port with a magnet, and stuck the needle in… and we got yellow, plasma coloured fluid out. It wasn’t the saline from the expander – I’d had a sneaky seroma build up of fluid around the implant! Janek took 25ml off then sent me to my breast team to drain the rest off under ultrasound guidance so we didn’t pierce the implant – we removed another 140+ ml (plus quite a bit that leaked out). In total I probably had 180-200ml drained from around my breast. It wasn’t infected and doesn’t affect my travel, but on top of the 350ml of saline already inside the implant, I’d had the equivalent of 500-550cc implants! No wonder it was so big and tight 😳 It feels so much better now, thankfully.
I’ve managed to get through chemo surprisingly well, and have had a lot of people – including my oncologist – commenting that I don’t look like I’ve just come through a chemo journey 😹 I truly believe it’s because I’ve had the opportunity to focus fully on my health since we first found out that we were dealing with invasive cancers rather than precancer. I’m super grateful to all the incredible providers who have supported me through 2 surgeries and 4 cycles of chemo over the last 6 months.
The team at Auckland Hyperbarics became like another TFP family, as I was seeing them 5 days a week throughout my chemo, and completed the recommended 60 sessions. I felt totally at home and fully embraced by them – like our team, they are friendly, caring and go over and above in welcoming and helping their patients.
Cristina at Lagom Clinic was my lymphatic angel 👼. She took me from having a high risk of lymphoedema and very limited range of movement in my shoulder due to cording/axillary web syndrome, to full range of shoulder movement, and now only needing my compression sleeve for travel and exercise to prevent lymphoedema. I still need to be careful of my arm with lymphoedema risks such as mosquito bites, cuts or grazes for the next 5 years, but I have so much more freedom of movement and life!
My acupuncturist Mei was a little ray of sunshine. She has Mei’s Natural Health Clinic and works out of Alpers Dental, where Auckland Hyperbaric is based. While I mainly saw her for acupuncture, she also does lymphatic drainage and traditional Chinese medicine, so was a wealth of knowledge.
Our wonderful Erin O’Hara, the evidence-based naturopath who works out of our Takapuna clinic, had me well supported with supplements and potions, to rebuild my resilience after 2 surgeries in quick succession, reduce the side effects from chemo (and the subsequent menopausal symptoms as the chemo destroyed my ovaries) and also to prevent the cancer from returning. I’m eternally grateful for your incredible suggestions and support Erin. Thank you 🙏
Our team at TFP have been absolutely outstanding. Not only have they been running the business without needing me other than for the occasional clinical support, they provided regular IV Vitamin C and Healite LED treatments for me, which have been a big part of my recovery plan. We had been planning to launch IV Vitamin C infusions for a while, so I got to do a lot of training and provide feedback, and we have now launched our unique IV Vitamin C offering where it is paired with a Healite (I alternated having this healing light on my breast and my face, helping my breast heal, and my face glow) and a deliciously relaxing neck and shoulder massage. Pro Collective interviewed our medical team leader Queza to write an excellent article about the new treatment combo, which you can read here.
It was wonderful to capture this ‘post treatment glow’ with a photoshoot with the extremely talented Kennedy, and Ali Brewer doing my makeup. We needed a photo for an upcoming magazine cover, but it’s also been a great opportunity to capture this stage of my journey. I was even brave and had photos without a wig! My hair is finally starting to grow in the bald patches, although it’s bright white and fluffy, not the dark, curly hair I’d been expecting 😹
I had a small ‘wigs and boobs’ party at home as a fun way to celebrate the end of my chemo journey. It was such a delight seeing everyone else turn up in wigs – I also had some of my least favourite wigs available for those who turned up without one. There’s a few people missing from the photo, but it was a great night seeing everyone who popped in!
Another breast cancer survivor, Ali, invited me to speak on her podcast, The Ali Bond Show. We had a wonderful chat about my history with starting TFP, some of the treatments we offer, being diagnosed with breast cancer, and how cancer changes our life and perspective. The podcast should be available soon, so keep an eye out for it!
Most of all I’m grateful to you for your ongoing support over what’s been a challenging time. Having your continued patronage while things have been a little unsettled for me has kept the business running, our team gainfully employed and me able to focus fully on returning to wellness. Thank you for loving and supporting our team and business,
With much gratitude and love, Dr Cat 😻
