Saw the oncologist today

Saw the oncologist today, Dr. Lechner. He wants more studies as he isn’t quite sure what we are looking at. He isn’t sure if there is actual cancer in the breast where the suspicious microcalcifications are or not. He wants an MRI of both breasts so that he can make sure the left breast is free and clear and to help delineate what exactly we have in the right breast. He said that the ‘lymph node’ along the breast bone – that I thought was a rib head out of alignment – is possibly the primary tumor and the pathology report mentions breast tissue and not actually a lymph node. He said it was in an odd location where lymph nodes aren’t usually located. So that actually made me feel a little better, thinking that maybe the lymph nodes under my arm have only been involved in the last month or two, so maybe my whole body ISN’T infested with cancer.

I am scheduled to get a MRI on Monday morning and hopefully this Friday or on Monday I will also receive a PET scan. An IV with an $800 sugar solution is injected first before the scan is performed. The sugar clings to fast growing cells, like tumors, and if they see something that is enlarged they can zero in on it with a CT scan at the same time. These two studies will hopefully be able to help us more with the ‘staging’ of the breast cancer, if it is more at a stage II, or if it has metastasized and is more at a stage IV.

Whatever the findings he is thinking that the best treatment is to start with chemotherapy to shrink the tumors which will mean possibly removing less breast, and then maybe/probably followed by radiation treatment. He knows that we are getting a second opinion this Tuesday at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center so he is trying to get these two scans done before my appointment so that they have more information to work with. I will then meet with my oncologist Wednesday morning after all the tests as well as the second opinion and we will make a decision on the best treatment plan and get ready for it.

I tried to talk him into the idea of waiting until after spring break before getting hit with chemo, but Paul wasn’t for the idea and told the doctor that we would rather get the treatment started than wait until later. That is kind of a bummer as I had hoped to go to Montana with the kids and celebrate Austin’s birthday as well. :(

Needle biopsy results are in

Just got the call from the doctor and they said it is an aggressive form of cancer, grade III. It is supposed to be sensitive to estrogen and progesterone which she said was good news for treatment purposes. She wants me to see an oncologist first as they believe chemotherapy would be best to be done first and have the lymph nodes shrunk down before I have any surgery. Oh boy.

My appointment right now is not until Tuesday the 25th although she said that I could call their office tomorrow and possibly see about getting an earlier appointment if there are any cancellations.

Questions still unanswered

I don’t have too much to report as the next step is a needle biopsy of the two lymph nodes. That is scheduled for Friday afternoon so the doctor doesn’t expect the results back until Monday.
She did say, however, that the radiologist said that the area that he thought was a breast tumor showed up as calcifications on the mammogram/ultrasound. I guess there was an abnormal amount of calcification. And I had the impression that it could possibly just be that which was causing some lymph node dysfunction. However, she seemed to be leaning towards breast cancer though it could also be lymphoma. She also said that the radiologist ‘thought’ the lump alongside my breast bone area was a lymph node, but wasn’t sure. So still lots of questions.
If there is cancer she will be referring me to an oncologist who will do a scan and check for metastasis, etc and probably start me on chemotherapy which could be a 4-6 month treatment plan. If there is any surgery it would happen after the chemotherapy.

Mammogram discovered breast cancer

I went to have a mammogram this Wednesday after I found a small lump under my right arm. I found out that the ‘rib head’ that I thought was slightly dislocated was instead a swollen lymph node which I have had for the last 6 months and that I have breast cancer.

I wasn’t going to tell anyone until after I met with the surgeon this coming Wednesday as I really don’t have a whole lot to say. I don’t know how large it is, what stage it is, what type it is nor what type of treatment I will need to go through. I am expecting to find out a lot more this Wednesday. However, Paul was needing to talk to someone about it, so I figured I had better start letting people know. I only started sending emails out slowly today while dealing with kids (day off from school) as well as other things – plus waiting for the use of my computer as the damn kids are using it all the time!!!!!

This sure freaked me out as I really wasn’t expecting this, or if I did have cancer, I thought it was just getting started. This sounds like it has been going on for a while, so probably more advanced, especially with two swollen lymph nodes. I have been crying at the drop of a hat, worrying about my kids losing their mother when they are too young, worried about Paul, worried about . . . etc, etc. Today I took Cody for a walk and while I was walking thinking that if I wasn’t around there wasn’t anyway that Paul would be able to take the kids to classes, be home for them after school, etc, etc while working a full time job . . . unless he had help. Then I got to thinking that he might actually get married again . . . to a bitch (of course) who would then be raising MY kids!!! I said no way in hell was this going to happen! I sent Paul an email saying if he was thinking of getting together with the bitch that had been flirting with him a few years back he had another thought coming!