(written by Sunny)
Friday, February 20th, the day after The News, started out a little shaky. Lindsie hadn't yet gotten results from her brain scan the night before and we were all on pins and needles. I don't know if anybody had slept. Thursday had been such a weird, surreal day and I think I can speak for our entire group of friends (including Josh and Lindsie) when I say nobody could have handled more bad news at that moment. You can imagine the elation and relief when Lindsie got the call that her brain scan was clear. Hallelujah! I think we all took a collective breath for the first time since Thursday afternoon.
That same morning Lindsie had an appointment with a genetic counselor. The counselor went over a series of genetic mutations that are associated with breast cancer and how each one might affect Lindsie, her treatment, her kids, or her siblings. I won't go into detail about all the stuff we learned in that appointment, but of the mutations that looked like possibilities in Lindsie's case the one that stayed on our minds was the p-53, or Li-Fraumini, mutation. While there was a likelihood Lindsie might carry a different mutation, or none at all, the p-53 mutation can leave people susceptible to multiple types of cancers and at higher risk than the general population of developing cancer due to radiation. This meant that if Lindsie carried this mutation she would likely need to avoid x-rays, the dye used in PET scans, and weigh the benefits of radiation treatment for the cancer she currently has against the risk of developing additional cancers down the road as a result of that treatment.
The genetic counseling appointment felt heavy and Lindsie and I both left feeling a little bit bummed. There was just so much information flooding in and needing to be processed over the course of that week and each new piece seemed to weigh a little heavier. Genetic testing results can take about a month, but the counselor had expedited a few of the most likely mutations including p-53 and we hoped to have the results in about 10 days, or right after Lindsie would return from Disneyland.
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