So, a couple of days passed and I called to check in to see if we had gotten any results from the MRI. Dr. Irani said they had just gotten the results back and the MRI revealed a few more masses in that breast and some lymph nodes that looked abnormal. She also said that the tumor had attached itself to my pectoral muscle, so the tumor would need to be shrunk some before they did surgery. I also needed a lymph node biopsy to see if the cancer had spread in the lymph nodes! UGH...another biopsy, which meant...you guessed it! MORE WAITING!
As the conversation unfolded, I began to understand that the fact the tumor would need to shrink meant that one of the treatments I was hoping to not have at all would actually be the first plan of attack to get the cancer removed from my body! They will need to start with chemotherapy and I have known enough people with cancer to know this is not a fun process.
The next afternoon my mom, Tom, and I met with my Oncologist, Dr. O'Brien to get all of our questions answered. She is going to be an amazing doctor to have on my side. She is thoughtful, detailed, and very open to answering any questions about this big process ahead. We spent an hour there and also "toured" the chemo room where my treatments will be. Depending on the results of my lymph node biopsy, I will either have a 2 drug chemo cocktail for 4 treatments spaced 3 weeks apart, or a 3 drug chemo cocktail for 6 treatments spaced 3 weeks apart. The latter she referred to as "throwing the kitchen sink" at the cancer as it was the more aggressive of the two treatment plans. Needless to say, I am praying for option 1!
Friday morning came and it was time for my ultrasound guided lymph node biopsy. My friend Jerri was off that day, but she saw to it that her good friend Alaina was taking good care of me that morning. Alaina was amazing and she made the procedure as easy and comfortable as it could be. They took a few samples of the enlarged and abnormally shaped lymph node the MRI revealed. I hope to have answers by Tuesday at the latest...and if I have paid enough of my "waiting dues" maybe some miracle will happen and we will hear by Monday! Basically what we are praying for is for the samples to come back negative for cancer. A positive result would get me the "kitchen sink" version of chemo. A negative result however will mean going through likely one more test. It's a sentinel node test and this is to have a special dye injected. The sentinel node is the first node the cancer would have traveled to, so if it comes back negative then we KNOW we are in the clear with the lymph nodes and can proceed with the less aggressive chemo option we are praying for. This test is a little more invasive so that is why they didn't start with that test before the biopsy of the other lymph node.
Off to do more waiting...will keep everyone posted as I know more.
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