I finally got word regarding my appointment at the Cancer Clinic. I have an appointment with Medical Oncology on April 28th and an appointment with Radiation Oncology on May 11th. I must say that I was shocked and disappointed that the appointments are more than a month away. The way things were going, I had expected to start chemo by the end of the month. I was pretty ticked off yesterday so, as I had promised myself, I started unpacking more boxes. Today I have started to see the positive aspects of having a month to wait. I had wanted to take the kids to the Toronto Zoo for the Easter celebration but wasn’t sure I would be able to make it…now I know I can.
In terms of work, I have this guilty feeling about being off on sick leave when I’m really not that sick. It feels like I’m playing hooky. So I’ve decided to go back to work part-time for the next month. I’ve been put on a cancellation list at the Cancer Clinic so there is still a chance that I will be in sooner than the 28th.
Today I had my ultrasound appointment. The purpose of the ultrasound was to see if there are any tumors in my abdomen in order to "stage" the cancer (staging explained below). In the abdomen there are 8 organs (don’t ask me to name them all) that the technician looks at. The technician told me that in breast and colon cancer patients, the liver would likely be the first place for any additional tumors to be found. She said that my liver appeared to be clear, but the radiologist would need to review the pictures and give the final word to my doctor.
When you have cancer, the doctors stage the cancer, in part to see if it has spread beyond the initial tumor. They also use the staging results to determine your treatment program. There are 4 stages of cancer. With respect to breast cancer, the stages (in a nutshell) are as follow:
Stage I
- the tumor is less than 2 cm and has not spread
Stage II – the cancer is less than 2 cm but has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm or the cancer is 2cm – 5cm, and may or may not have spread to the lymph nodes under the arm
Stage III – the cancer is 5cm or larger and has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm or the cancer has spread to the chest wall, muscles or lymph nodes along the breast bone
Stage IV
– the tumor is of any size and has spread to distant sites in the body (usually the bones, lungs, liver or brain)
Right now the doctors know that I have Stage II breast cancer because the tumor was 1 cm and had spread to 2 of the regional lymph nodes under my arm. Once I have the official ultrasound and bone scan results, hopefully the doctors will be able to confirm that the cancer has not gone beyond Stage II.
I have a feeling we’ll all be cancer specialist by the time this is over.
Rest up,
me
3 comments:
Hi Kim,
It was great seeing all of you at Nan's party. I'm still full! Thank you for all of this information. Both my Mom and my sister have had lumps removed so I try to keep a watchful eye or should I say "a feel". Sorry you have to wait for your appointments, hopefully you can get in sooner due to a cancellation. We will keep our fingers crossed. Hope we see you before the wedding - perhaps at my shower if you are up to it. Thinking of you and enjoying your blog everyday, Karen
P.S. Happy Birthday Honey - Kevin is 35 today (March 23)!
Hi Kim and Steve:
Glad to hear you got your appointments at the LRCP. I can understand your frustration at having to wait a month and wanting to go back to work. Some people think I am a workaholic but work keeps me sane in a crazy world. I wanted Steve to know that I went to Sunripe yesterday to buy a tenderloin to make for my son and his girlfriend when they come over tonight. He wasn't joking, I would have to take out a second mortgage!!! I settled for the sirloin tip (I don't think their palates are sophisticated enough to know the difference). It will be another round of Texas Hold 'em tonight so hopefully I will win this time (haven't yet). I like the idea of your "pink party". Value Village here I come (I can't wait to dress Chris in pink!!!). It was really nice to see everyone at Nan's party and hopefully we can get together at some point over the Easter week-end.
Andrea
Hi Kim,
I'm not too sure if my last comment actually made it. I'm not so computer literate....I must talk to your Nan to get some lessons.
I absolutely love this blog spot stuff....I read it every day and look forward to hearing from you and reading all the wonderful, sincere comments from everyone.
I am so happy to hear that you have your appointment, April 28th and May 11th. Hmmm.....don't we have birthdays in and around there??? I think yours is in May but I could be wrong.
I hope and pray for you that this will be done with and cancer free soon!!! You truly are a trooper and I commend you for being so strong and sharing with us your thoughts, comments and knowledge on breast cancer.
As for passing the time, keep going with the suduko puzzles.
Don't feel guilty about taking some time off...you deserve it and I am sure Steve and the boys will love having you home.
Take care,
Brenda
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