All roads lead to home

If you're ever given a choice between a core needle biopsy and a fine needle aspiration (FNA), go for the FNA! Or, if a FNA isn't an option for you, be prepared for the very special kind of suck that is about to be bestowed upon you.

I had a core needle biopsy almost three weeks ago. And was entirely unprepared for just how unpleasant a procedure that was going to be. Fortunately, the two very kind and very caring medical professionals showed me great compassion as they sliced, poked, and prodded.

So I had my game face on yesterday when going for another biopsy. This was to check out my left axillary lymph nodes. The bad news is, there are cancer cells in the lymph nodes under my left arm. The good news? The docs were able to figure that out using a very tiny, painless needle.

Yesterday was also the meeting with the reconstructive plastic surgeon. According to the surgical oncologist, I'm probably not a very good candidate for breast conservation therapy (lumpectomy + radation) due to the size and location of the mass. Yes, even with breast cancer, I'm an over achiever. So it looks like mastectomy is the way to go. Unilateral or bilateral....decisions, decisions. What's the good news there you ask? The plastic surgeon can start reconstruction in the same surgery as the mastectomy.

So there are two roads to reconstruction. One involves submuscular saline or silicone implants. These supposedly look, feel, and move like OEM. But should be replaced every 10 years or so. The other option involves a bonus tummy tuck. Why? you ask. Because they transplant tissue from your abdomen to your boobs. I did not at all mind being told that I'm not a good candidate for this surgery because I don't have enough tissue to transplant.

It's really hard to get upset about all of these doctor's appointments when they all tell you how young, fit and intelligent you are. Okay, so maybe I made up that last part. But they all do say I'm young and in good shape. Well, except for the whole cancer thing.

And now I've got two appointment-free days. Tonight is the last night of the Spring semester for both me and Rob. He has a final exam and I have an asset-based community analysis presentation to give. We're both signed up for two Summer classes each, but that will most likely be scaled back, depending on what my surgery and chemo schedule will be.

Speaking of chemo, Thursday we meet with the medical oncologist for a consultation on chemo and hormone therapies. My cancer cells are both hormone receptor postive and HER2 postive. Again with the over achieving. The good thing about cells that are hormone receptor positive is that you can essentially starve them by taking an anti-estrogen medication. But being HER2 positive means that chemo is pretty much unavoidable.

Thursday's doc (who is a CUA alumn, can I get a hell yeah) will be able to suggest whether we can shrink the mass with chemo prior to surgery - making me a better candidate for nipple conservation (sorry coudn't find a cool link for that one. Also, I'm starting to feel like a national park with of all this conservation talk.) She'll also talk with us about hormone therapy.

I think the upside of having chemo will be that my hair will be too busy falling out (actually, it's called releasing) for me to grow a mustache from all the anti-estrogen stuff.

Thursday also means a CT scan and bone density scan. <insert something witty here for me>

And then... Friday is the grand finale of appointments with the surgical oncologist. From that appointment, we should have a game plan and know what the summer is going to look like. But that's not the good news. The good new is... we also leave for Myrtle Beach on Friday for a most excellent birthday celebration.



Happy Birthdays Monica and Rob!
Bring on the fiesta!