More Tests

This week has been nothing but Dr.'s appointments. Monday I met with a Radiation Oncologist and a Plastic Surgeon. We don't know yet if radiation will be necessary. It depends on the size of the tumor and the number of lymph nodes involved. Usually if the tumor is small and I opt for a mastectomy radiation is not necessary, so we can hope. I also met with a plastic surgeon. I am sure he is a good surgeon but....he kept me waiting for over an hour and then talked about reconstruction in theory only. He did not show me any pictures or spend more than 10 minutes with me. I did not feel comfortable with him at all.

Tuesday I met with the Oncologist and had an MRI. The oncologist was wonderful and provided me with a lot of information. So far here is what we know. The tumor was a grade 3 tumor that is not estrogen or progesterone receptive. Most women who are post menopausal have estrogen or progesterone receptive tumors. There are drugs such as tamoxifen specifically designed to attack these types of tumors. My cancer is not estrogen or progesterone receptive. It is also HER2/neu positive. HER2/neu is a protein that is present in normal breast cells. My cells have too much of this protein so the tumor is more aggressive. The benefit of this is that there is a specific drug to target this protein. The drug is called herceptin and will be administered every 3 weeks for the next year after I heal from the surgery. The oncologist did say I would need chemotherapy for a minimum of 6 treatments every 3 weeks and yes I will lose my hair.

The MRI was not much fun. They had trouble again getting the IV in my vein so they had to poke me a couple of times. I had to lay face down with my arms over my head for 45 minutes. 15 years ago that would not have been a big deal but it hurts to lay on your stomach!

Today I went to my original surgeon and she discussed the results of the MRI with me. There is a "fairly large amount" of residual cancer and one suspicious lymph node. The oncologist told me if the size of the cancer added with the number of lymph nodes is 4 or less I would probably not need radiation. The original tumor was 3cm and the residual amount according to the MRI is between 2-4 cm with one potential lymph node involved so it may mean radiation after the chemotherapy.

I don't have my next surgery scheduled yet. I have one more consultation with a plastic surgeon on Monday and then we can schedule surgery. We are shooting for mid-December. Chemotherapy will start 4-5 weeks after surgery.