Busy Week-Whew!

It's been a busy week back to the surgeons and moving on to the Oncologist.

* Monday: Dr. Caroll Vincent the General Surgeon checked out her handy work, and then went through the final pathology report from the Mastectomy. Lobular Carcinoma, Stage IIIC.

* Wednesday: Dr. David King the Oncologist did a consultation with Larry, Trish, Kelly and me. He confirmed that I have Stage IIIC Lobular Carcinoma. The tumor was just 2.3 cm, but there were 13 positive (cancerous) nodes. Anything over 9 makes the nodes the greatest concern with the possibility of spreading to other parts of my body. In his words, "I'm going to blast you with drugs". Like most cancers, this one is aggressive and fast growing. When I asked if he could tell how long I've had the cancer, his comment was, "you've probably had the bad cells in your body all along, but what triggered them to wake up and start growing and expanding we don't know". "If we knew, we'd stop cancer in its tracks".
* Recommended Treatment: Chemotherapy, Radiation, and Hormonal Therapy in consecutive order probably starting in 3-4 weeks.

* Thursday: Dr. Angela Hatfield, the plastic surgeon she's the lady in charge right now because she's responsible for my healing. She did pull one of my drains, Yahoo! Unfortunately, the second one will probably be another 7-10 days before it's ready to be pulled out. The drain man (Larry), will watch closely, and when the liquid from the drain is less than 30cc in 24 hour period for two days, they will pull it.

* Next Immediate Steps: two more weeks of rest at home for healing with a goal to return to work May 2. During the next two weeks, I've given the doctors the goal (and they have responded) to get all of the tests and procedures done that will be needed before treatment begins. That way when Dr. Hatfield gives the green light, we can start the treatment. So here's what I have to get done: Echo Cardiogram, PET/CT Scan, Drains out, Expander pumped up (this has to be done before I start Chemo), Port Placement Surgery (for easy entry for the Chemo), and get fitted for a temporary prosthesis. Whew!

It's been a whirlwind of doctor's visits, procedures, and tests, but now we know what we are dealing with, and can work through the process. For that I'm grateful.

I want to continue to express my gratitude to those that have personally reached out to me with their stories of courage and hope. I know the fight is long and hard, but with the amazing support group around me, how can I fail? My thanks to everyone.

Cathy