The Verdict

The verdict is in. I’m to have chemo. I’ll have the oncotype dx test done first on the breast tissue that was removed and if that indicates that chemo will be effective then I’ll start chemo in about a month or so. In the meantime, I’ll meet with a medical oncologist to find out exactly what the plan will be, but it looks as if it will be AC for two months followed by taxol for two months. It’s really the best way to get rid of any rogue cells that have intentions of setting up shop in other parts of my body. It will be four months of unpleasantness, but I think that it will be worth it. The largest tumor was 1.7 cm and it was a grade 3, which means that it’s an aggressive form of cancer. According to the research that I’ve done on medical databases, survival rates under those circumstances improve with chemotherapy. I’m not crazy about the idea, but I do understand the why it makes sense. I have a commitment to staying on the planet as long as I can. If Howard will do that paperwork for the medical claims, the deal is that I’ll do the treatment. I’d rather do chemo than the paperwork at this point. Ask me in a few months, though. I might be willing to trade.

I'm also scheduling an MRI to see what's going on in the remaining breast. Dr. Pommier says that he's not happy with any imaging technique and MRIs are apt to give false positives and false negatives. However, I'd like another look, a differents sort of look. If a mammogram can miss a 1.7 cm tumor, that's a cause for concern. Dr. Pommier says that what an MRI or a mammogram is able to see is not the tumor itself but the body's response to the tumor. Therefore, one can have a large tumor but not much of a response to it or a small tumor and a large response to it. The tumor itself is made up of breast cells, although they are cancerous. To the mammogram or MRI, they just look like breast tissue. However fibrous masses or calcifications can form in response to the tumors and those are what show up in images. It's not very reassuring. It seems as if the only way that one can really know what is going on is to take the tissue out and look at it under a microscope.

To slightly change the topic, I got fit for a prosthesis this morning. It's great to have the option of looking like my old self again. I was getting tired of the wounded look of being flat on one side with one large droopy breast on the other. I wore it around for a few hours, but I'm still healing on that one side so a few hours was quite enough. Still, it was great to fill out my clothes for a change. I'm going back to work on Monday so I'm hoping to look (and feel) normal by then. My energy is good. I'm down to the one-nap-a-day plan now. That's progress.