We had the consultation with the doctor this morning. I know I am in good hands. Dr. Scott and her staff are great. Steve and I met with the nurse practitioner first. Upon examination, she was surprised to know that I had found the lump myself because it is so small. I have always been known as a detailed person and have now found out that it has its advantages!
When I had the ultrasound done on the tumor, they noticed a lymph node that had an irregular shape. So they did a biopsy on both the tumor and the lymph node. This has turned to be a huge time saver. They now know that the cancer is in the breast and the lymph node so I will be having 2 surgeries at once instead of one for the tumor now only to find out I will need another one for the lymph nodes later. The surgeries will be a lumpectomy and an axillary node dissection. The lumpectomy will remove the tumor and enough surrounding tissue so they feel comfortable that they have everything. The axillary node dissection will remove a dozen or so lymph nodes (from the armpit only, I thought it was from all over originally). The pathologist will then dissect the nodes to see if they are cancerous. The surgery will only be a day surgery so that will help with keeping the boys from worrying. I’ll have a drain under my arm for about 4-5 days then the home care nurse will come and remove it. From there, more healing time then the chemo begins. The pathologist’s report will let us know what kind of chemo treatment it will be.
Out of curiosity I asked the doctor how long the tumor had been there for. She said we’ll never really know but it is thought that from the time the first cell goes wacko to the size the tumor is now (1.2 cm) it has probably been eight years. Wow.
On a lighter note…….Steve picked up several of the “Breast Self Examination” door hangers (info sheet that looks like a “Do Not Disturb” sign) from the doctor’s office. He said he was going to put them on all the door knobs at work. I suggested that he put them on his own door knob but that his office shouldn’t be considered the breast screening room.
Well the day went as well as we could have hoped. Steve and I are happy with how things are moving along and hopefully you are too.
By the end of today I should know the surgery date.
I’ll keep you posted.
me
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2 comments:
That's encouraging news!! In regards to Steve, he always has been a bit of a knob....*smile* Talk to you guys tonight.
Kim & Steve,
Sounds like the best news you could have gotten today.
We're all here to support you.....you just have to ask :-)
Colleen, Sean & Sydney
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