August 11, 2010

I sincerely apologize for my silence these past couple of weeks. I stirred everyone up with my initial news, and then neglected to keep everyone suitably informed thereafter. I’ve been tired, busy and involved with company, so now I’d like to catch everyone up.

I have recovered nicely from the surgery. My two incisions (one under my left breast where the tumor was removed and the other under my left arm where the three lymph nodes were removed) have been healing well (we were given WAY to many Vicodin to take home; I think I only used 7 pills total, including one to get me through the Twins game at Target Field 3 days after surgery).

I had a follow-up appointment with my surgeon last Thursday (August 4) to go over all of the findings. They were pretty much what we had already heard, with a few minor edits. She (Dr. Amy Whitson, my outstanding surgeon) removed a 9 cm lump from the lower part of my left breast, somewhat recessed into the chest cavity (she had described it to my husband as the size of a baseball, but I think a baseball is bigger than 9 cm). Of this, 3 cm was the diameter of the actual cancer tumor (they had told me 2 cm earlier), the balance was additional tissue. To be classified as Stage IIA cancer, the tumor must have been 2 cm or less, so this pushed me into the Stage IIB category (not that that’s a big deal).

When the pathologist examined the nearest lymph node, he was puzzled by the fact that the cancer cells in it were microscopic and scattered. Generally when a cancer spreads, it begins replicating immediately, and so they find one or more clumps, which they measure to further define the situation. N0 means the metastasis is < .02 cm. Because these cells were scattered, they had to estimate the combined size, which originally they said was in that range. However, they revised it to .03 cm, so that put me at N1mi (for microscopic). The only difference these numbers make is that they confirm that they will add chemo to my treatment; they might have anyway if I had been Stage IIA N0, but for sure if it’s Stage IIB N1 chemo is recommended.

The pathologist also sent his findings to both Mayo and Methodist, to get additional opinions on whether they should go back in and take any more lymph nodes out. The unanimous decision was that this was unnecessary. They feel that with radiation, chemo and hormone therapy, if there are any more scattered cells left in me (presumably in lower quantities than what they found in the nearest lymph node), they will be destroyed by the treatment anyway. Saves me from getting cut open again.

My next appointment will be my initial consultation with Dr. Blumenreich, the physical oncologist and hematologist. He will lay out my treatment schedule, and discuss all the pros and cons of the treatment options. A couple weeks later I’ll be introduced to Dr. Sperduto, who is the radiation oncologist. So I still don’t know what order these treatments will come in, nor their frequency, duration, intensity or timetable. We won’t know until we start whether they produce the normal side effects, or if my body has a different reaction to them. I don’t know how sick, tired, or anything else I’ll be, so I don’t know how this will affect my energy level or work load. It’s another adventure.

On a more positive note, my son and daughter, who both live in Southern CA, came to see me this weekend. I see my daughter (age 30) quite regularly, but this was her first visit since my diagnosis. She left to go back on Monday. I had not seen my son (age 25) in a year and a half, so it was awesome to have him here. I have missed him incredibly. He left this morning. It was a great, fun weekend – maybe one of the best we’ve had together in 5 years.

I will try to be better about my updates, now that I’ve hooked you all into this melodrama of mine. I’ll let you all know what I learn about my ongoing treatment. Your prayers are felt; thank you! And thank you to those of you who offered help and cooked us meals in that week following surgery. Your acts of kindness have made a world of difference!

Love you all!