Finally my pathology report!

-
 3/28/2022

I was getting really concerned but around 9:00 pm the pathology report came in. With it was a  layperson's explanation of what it meant and an apology from Dr Baker because it took so long.

Good news first:

No more surgery

Breast margins are clear

Don't need chemo


Bad news:

The lymph node that was removed had cancer. Because of this I will need my entire breast and armpit area radiated. We were hoping for  partial radiation because if it comes back in a different place in that breast, I could have radiation but now if that happened, it's a mastectomy.

Also about radiation. It can cause flare ups in autoimmune diseases so I expect to be in more pain and more tired than tired.

We are talking to the medical oncologist tomorrow and the radiologist next week so we'll have a better idea of the radiation schedule. It's possible I could need four weeks instead of three of radiation. We have to get to the east coast as soon as we are told we can leave. 

The thought of having some type of hormone inhibiter in me while already nauseous from the ride in an rv is not a pleasant thought. The medical oncologist can change my meds if I'm having a really hard time.


Oh and to top it off Elliott has shingles!!

 

News changes quickly. We spoke with the medical oncologist who asked my permission to send the node for an onco type. Depending on the results I might need chemo. I am having a PET scan as well, This pushes our east coast trip a bit so I am overwhelmed and depressed. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

10-day Canadian Rockies trip by Car

-
Image
 We are very settled in Monroe and are considering selling Lincoln and visiting a few times a year. We talk to the little ones almost every Sunday. They are growing up. 2nd grade, 1st grade a nd  preschool.  I'm doing fine on the exemestane.  Scans have  been clear. We have found a few docs but still have a couple more to find. We are heading back to CA in a month for four months.  Our flight to Canada was easy. We are trying to be less judgmental so I won't talk about a couple of annoying things.  I am trying very hard to do this blog in as non-OCD as possible. I wrote for epinions for years and don't want to be detailed like I was. "Just the facts, ma'am." We rented a car so did what we usually do. We borrowed a couple of itineraries from the web and followed those. One thing we would do differently is arrive in Calgary and leave in Edmonton though this is not a direct flight.  We would have toured Calgary for two days instead of leaving it to t...
Read more

The Worst of Times

-
Image
2022 has certainly been challenging. Health issues just kept piling up. Our world turned right side up or upside down depending on your perspective.  After family therapy we are good with the Loomis Levy's and have had the kids a lot. It's been fun but exhausting.  We made a necessary choice to be closer to our adult daughters. After searching and changing our minds, we bought a great house in an over 55 community in Monroe Township, NJ.  Funny but we are 45 minutes away from cousin Marissa and family; too far (2 hours) from Terri and Jeff and 1 1/2 hours to Manhattan. I may have mentioned this but our daughter MD gave 3 months notice, sold her house and got a job and apartment at a hospital near Lennox Hill.  Our furbabies turned 11 and without the beach house (We sold it and will sell the RV.) they don't run as much as they used to but they are spry and healthy.  I'll take pics when I am in the house and hopefully find my camera in one of the 6 suitcases we pa...
Read more

After Surgery: What is it like

-
Image
 3/15/2022 Although I am on pain meds and a little loopy, I wanted to get my surgery day down before I forget. I don't know if this is the protocol of all breast surgeries, but I saw a lot of people!  At 7:45 I was taken into the pre-op area where I was asked my name and birthdate a dozen times. So many times, that when a woman walked in, I just said my name and birthdate. She laughed and said that she knew my name but not my birthdate. "I'm Dr. Baker." Well of course I didn't recognize her. I only met her one time, and she had a net on her head and a mask and plastic covering her face. She had on scrubs so there was no white coat. In any case I was asked by lots of nurses health questions, got an IV put in with at some point saline and an antibiotic and off I went to Nuclear Medicine and saw a machine that looked like it was from outer space. I wondered if this is also the radiation machine but I didn't ask. Mitch, an RN, spent a long time explaining what wou...
Read more