OK, I thought this post would be all about next steps and what the plan looks like to ninja the cancer out of my breast. Not so much.
Let’s start with what I DO know. Right breast, the mass was a normal healthy lymph node. End of story for righty.
Lefty, we know more from pathology:
- Staging isn’t done until surgery, but my surgeon is guessing Stage 2
- Still no sign of lymph nodes involved
- In breast cancer, they give the cells grades of 1-3, speaking to how aggressive the cells are. My main tumor is grade 3.
- There’s a protien that gives the rate of cell growth, KI67. Below 10% is low, above 20% is high, and in between is intermediate. My tumor is at 60%
- I’m ER/PR positive, which means that I’ll be on estrogen supression after my treatment is all over, and that my IUD that has hormones in it has to come out… NOW
The biggest bomb is that today’s MRI found ANOTHER mass in Lefty. So tomorrow AM, I get to go BACK to SCCA for an MRI guided biopsy… since ultrasound didn’t find this one and I still am a fan of them not indiscriminately taking chunks out of my breast. If this new mass is negative, then I can have a lumpectomy. If not… mastectomy. Either way, I’m likely to get radiation… and a very likely to get chemo.
I think the thing I’m having the hardest part wrapping my head around is the surgical decision. I thought that I could just get them both chopped off… that doesn’t seem to be an option, so I’m looking at at least some time with nothing to something on the left side, and my cartoon sized K-cup on the right. I’m not sure why this freaks me out more than anything else… but there you go.
So here’s the little bit of a timeline that the medical oncologist gave us:
- In the next 2-4 weeks, I have whatever surgery we decide on
- 2-3 weeks off, then chemo
- Chemo will last anywhere from 3-6 months
- Radiation will be 6 weeks, once a day, M-F
- After that, I’ll start the endocrine therapy… which will go for the next 5 years
- And somewhere in there I’ll have several more surgeries for reconstruction… should be done with that in the next 2 years.
So yeah. At this moment I’m just exhausted. So I’m going to sleep on it, and try to figure if I can get my head back into work, where I’d really rather that it was all along, as of 11a tomorrow.
The Breast Cancer Ninja 
You are a fighter, surrounded by fighters. We love you and support you, and even if your boobs are a bit mismatched, we will still love and support you. You can do this!!
Much love to you!
Hey Ange,
We love you very much and we are all rooting for you!
When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn. ~Harriet Beecher Stowe
Hugs,
Suzanne
Okay, every time you say “cartoon K-cup”, I think of those silly Keurig coffee cups! That would be ONE big cup of coffee! I love you whether you have one cartoon K cup and nothing else. You are awesome! Thanks for continuing to update us.
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