I'm Sure There's a Silver Lining Somewhere...

My oncologist, Dr. Jahagirdar, called me tonight (about 7 pm) to give me the results of my path report. Not much good news there, unfortunately. So, here goes:
The area of cancer (not necessarily a tumor) is 3.5cm (1 1/4"?); 3 of 9 lymph nodes have cancer; stage 2B; estrogen and progesterone negative; Her 2 positive. Her 2 is a hormone that, in my case, causes the tumor to grow, so I will have to get herceptin infusions to block the hormone.
The plan will probably look something like this: Adriamycin and Cytoxin (not sure about spelling yet!) chemo cocktail every 2 weeks x 4 (2months), then another chemo drug, Taxol, once per week for 12 weeks. I will start the Herceptin at the same time as the Taxol, and the Herceptin will continue on for 7 (?) months.
Also, the margins of the lumpectomy were not clear, so I will need another surgery(re-excision) to remove more tissue. Dr. J. thinks I should consider a mastectomy, because then I wouldn't have to have radiation, and I wouldn't have to worry about the margins coming back clear. It is possible that if I have a re-excision that the margins still may not be clear and I'd have to go back in again. Now, I do have a lot of tissue, but removing even more tissue could leave me quite lopsided and disfigured. I want to wait until we have the genetic test results and talk to my surgeon about all my options before I make any decision.
Next Friday I have my ct scans scheduled, and Dr. J wants to try to get some other tests done too. He wants me to have a bone scan (breast cancer sometimes travels to the bones), and an EKG and Muga test for my heart. Some chemo drugs are hard on the heart so they do the tests first. Someone should be calling me tomorrow to schedule everything for next week. I took next week off too because my surgeon didn't want me going back to work yet.
We are all a bit bummed right now. I'm leaning heavily on God. I'm scared of what the scans might find, because I'm not sure how much more of this I can take.
Rest assured though, God is with me.
Love
Tina

Lumpectomy Done...With a Few Surprises!

I hate surprises!
I had my "Partial Mastectomy" with Sentinel Node Biopsy yesterday. It was supposed to be a same day surgery. The sentinel node biopsy was just a precaution...NO ONE expected to find that the cancer had spread...well, it did. There was cancer in the lymph node, so the surgeon had to take more nodes. This is not supposed to happen with DCIS, but the surgeon figures there was more invasive cancer than the biopsy found. We now have to wait until Thurs. or Friday to get the pathology report.
Because more lymph nodes were taken (from the armpit area) I have a drain tube, and I had to stay overnight in the hospital. Rich and I had to learn how to take care of the drain and change the dressings. I'm glad I was there yesterday, because I got the big drugs--diluaded and percoset. Today I haven't had much pain., just some tenderness.
So, unless it was just a few stray cells in the sentinel node, I will most likely have to have chemo again (in addition to the radiation already planned). Of course I immediately thought of my hair! It seems like most breast cancer chemo cocktails make you lose your hair.
My oncologist, Dr. J., was making rounds yesterday so he stopped in to see me (not planned, I just happened to be there). It was just a short visit, but nice to see him. Tonight (about 6:30) he called here. He said he could tell I was a little disappointed yesterday (ya think?). He wanted to reassure me. He said if I have to do chemo, it'll just be a nuisance, and I'll get through it. He said we'll do whatever we have to. He almost had me in tears. It was so thoughtful for him to call just to reassure me. He told me to call him Thursday for the pathology report.
The other thing that the path report will tell us is if the surgeon got clean margins or not. He feels there is a good chance he did, but he has no way of telling until he gets the path report. If there is cancer at or near the edge of the tissue he removed, I'll have to have a re-excision--meaning another surgery to cut more tissue out.
I've already had a problem with my drain tonight! My underarm was feeling very wet and I thought I was sweating alot. I realized I better check and make sure it wasn't my drain, and of course it was! I think it got all backed up because there is a lot of blood clots in the tubing. We tried to break them up a little and put new dressing on. We'll check in alittle while to see if the dressing is wet again. I'm SO THANKFUL Rich is willing to help with all this. I could do it myself, but it would be difficult and make me more sore.
Well, time for more pain meds...and soon to bed. Its been a long day and I only slept a couple of hours last night.
Keep praying for me! I know sometimes it seems that God isn't listening, but He is. He has a plan for me and His word tells us to be PERSISTENT or BOLD("shameless insistence" in Greek) in prayer!
Thanks for all the love, thoughts, prayers, cards, etc. It means A LOT to me!
Love,
Tina

MRI Results and Genetic Counseling

Yesterday (while on the playground supervising recess!) I got a call from my oncologist. I was surprised because it was supposed to be my surgeons office. Dr. J said he saw that my MRI results were in and he couldn't help but look! He is an awesome doc. He said they didn't find anymore cancer, and nothing at all in my right breast. I wasn't even sure they MRIed (?) that side. So, that's good news! I asked him if it still looked like a lumpectomy would be ok, and he said he thinks so. I still haven't heard from the surgeons office--maybe they know Dr. J already talked to me?
Today I met with the genetic counselor. She said she was sorry to see me again! I am going to be tested for the 2 breast cancer genes. Its not 100% accurate, but close. I had to have a tube of blood drawn and it will be sent to a lab in Salt Lake City. Apparently, its the only lab in the US that does this test because they patented the gene. I didn't realize it was a blood test, I thought they'd test the tissue from the biopsy. The test results won't be back before I have the lumpectomy, but I don't think I would change anything anyway. I think I'd still want to have a lumpectomy, and have more frequent mammograms and MRIs. Then if the cancer comes back, I can decide if I want to do something more drastic then. I'm really not ready to give up "the girls" yet! But I definitely will if I need to.
I think because of what I've already been through, cancer doesn't scare me so much anymore. If this was my first cancer, I'd probably be freaking out. But because this was caught early it's not really life threatening, like the colon cancer. Some people would just want the cancer out as quickly as possible and would do whatever it takes to make sure they don't ever get it back. I totally understand that viewpoint, but that's not where I'm at right now. As long as I'm getting all my tests done when I'm supposed to, I'm ok with waiting to see if it comes back. I do have to say that this is where I'm at at this moment--that could always change! I haven't talked all this over with my onc. or surgeon yet either.
Now, the colon cancer is a different story! It was stage 3, and I'll probably always worry about it coming back. I have my CT scan scheduled for Friday, May 7th, and my onc. appt. the following Wed. I'm already nervous! It seems like I've been off chemo for too long, and if there were any cancer cells left, they've had too much time to grow!
ok...I think that's all I needed to say for now. Rachel, Brennan, Alyssa, Jaren, Shonna, and Rich are all here in the living room, so its been hard to keep my focus on the blog!
Take care everyone!
Love,
Tina

Met With the Surgeon

Ok, before I get started with details, I want to mention that I started getting sick this morning. My neck started to ache, which worked its way down my back and up into my head, then I discovered I had a fever too. Took Tylenol and ibuprofen, and felt ok most of the day. I mention this because I'm really tired and a little achy right now, so I'm not too concerned with grammar and making sense! :)
I met with my surgeon, Dr. Todd Morris, about 2 today. I really liked him. He's kind, and has a good sense of humor. He took his time explaining everything, and answering all my questions. He said I could have a lumpectomy with radiation, or a mastectomy. I probably won't need chemo, but might need hormone therapy. We went ahead and scheduled the lumpectomy for April 26th, and in the meantime, I'll have an MRI (next Tuesday) and meet with the genetic counselor (next Thursday). If more calcifications (or worse) show up on the MRI, I would probably have to have a mastectomy. If the geneticist finds out I have the "breast cancer gene" I could possibly end up having a bilateral (double) mastectomy. But for now, we are going with the lumpectomy. I could have chosen to have the surgery sooner, and do a mastectomy in the future, if needed, but I would rather have all the facts and then have just one surgery.
When I have surgery, the surgeon will also take the sentinel lymph nodes. He finds them by injecting dye into my breast, then watching which nodes it goes to, then those are the ones he removes. Its just a precaution; he doesn't expect to find anything in the nodes.
Dr. Morris said I am lucky to have caught the cancer at an early stage, and my prognosis is very good. We will find out after surgery if I need hormone therapy. The biopsy I already had was too small to tell whether there was estrogen or progesterone receptors. That basically means one of those hormones might cause the cancer to grow, and I would take drugs to block that hormone.
This morning I started to get very nervous about all of this. I REALLY don't want to have another surgery, and go through all this again. I mentioned on facebook that I was more nervous than I expected, and several people gave me encouragement and prayed for me. I spent some time with God, and felt more at peace (although I started feeling sick!). I don't know why I have to go through this, and I don't like it, but I pray that God's will, not mine, be done in my life. Then sometimes I wonder if I'm really that thick-headed, that I have to go through all this to learn the lesson God wants to teach me! :P
I want to thank one of my wonderful aunts for sending me money to buy treats for the cancer center. We stopped at Target on the way and bought a bunch of snacks. As usual, they were VERY grateful. My mom had crocheted some hats, and I brought them too. The nurses set them out, then anyone who wants one can take one.
Speaking of the nurses, I had a different one today (I had my port flushed before my appt. with the surgeon), and I told her about my new diagnoses. She didn't say much about it, just kept being all chipper and nice. When I was in the waiting room at the breast health center (across the hall), she popped in and told me how sorry she was that she misunderstood me. She was entering my info into the computer and somehow saw something about the breast cancer, and the other nurses looked at it too (the others knew me better and new that I had colon cancer before, not breast cancer). She had thought I was saying that I had started chemo for breast cancer a year ago. Anyways, she was very apologetic and said they all were sorry to hear about this, and would be thinking about me and praying for me. Those nurses are THE BEST!
So, that's my story. Oh--when I got home this afternoon, Brennan was here and I got to take care of him for a little while. He has a cold, but was still pretty smiley. He was more snuggly too!
I'll keep you updated!
Take care,
Tina