So I've had some people ask me about what the future holds and whether I have brain cancer or breast cancer, so I'm going to do some educating! We'll see how good I do! I have noticed that my math skills are SORELY LACKING right now!
So... I was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2010. It was about 2 cm and called "Triple Negative" because it didn't have any special receptors that could be used to fight the tumor. It was classified Stage II. I did the standard course of treatment, but chose to do chemo first. So, 2 rounds of chemo (6 months total), then the surgery to remove the cancer. Sometimes the chemo will kill all the cancer and there will be no "lump" to remove. This did not happen with me. When they removed the tumor in the breast, they checked the lymph nodes in the armpit and found that 1 out of the 11 they removed had some tumor in it. This was not necessarily bad, just not great. So, that's how I got both breasts removed and some lymph nodes in my left armpit. I did not do reconstruction, because I was waiting for David to get a job and money before we did something that I would need alot of time off work for. So the plan was to be done and over with breast cancer (Wasn't that a nice plan!!)
The next surprise was the radiation, which I didn't expect to need, but was recommended solely based on my age and type of breast cancer. However, because I eventually wanted to have a nice chest again, I would need to put something back in the breast to stretch it out so that the radiation wouldn't "ruin" the reconstruction. So, then I needed to go back and get tissue expanders placed in the breasts and fill them. This took a couple of weeks to accomplish.
The current thinking is that the original tumor was a mess of different type of little cancer cells. Some of them were "triple negative" and some of them were HER2+. Now, none of the testing they did found the HER2+ cells, but they were there. Any HER2+ means that the cells grow really fast! So, while I was waiting to start radiation, a little mass of cells was growing. And so in September 2011 (a year after my original diagnosis), I had another lump in the breast. So, standard treatment: surgery to remove it, radiation to "clear" the area and possibly more chemo or meds.
It was fortunate that we tested the new tumor. Everyone thought it would be the same as the original (triple negative), but it wasn't. This now gave us a new drug to help fight. At this point, I am still considered Stage II breast cancer, with a local recurrence. I had a little more radiation than was originally planned and I also had a plan with the oncologist to start a new round of chemo and also Herceptin, which is a drug that specifically blocks the HER2 receptor and prevents those cells from growing.
So a month after I find the second lump, I have a headache after a treatment. Not a big deal, right....wrong! That's when we discover the metastasis (the spread). So, October 2011 (13 months after original diagnosis, 1 month after recurrence) is when I am diagnosed as Stage IV breast cancer with brain metastasis. So, what does that mean? Well, you can go and look at your own prognosis, but I focus on ME. All the statistics out there don't mean anything for an individual, just for a general population. I think the main thing to understand is that now I have a chronic disease. It is "uncureable, but treatable". So, I have to change my lifestyle, just like someone diagnosed with heart disease or cholesterol or diabetes. All those things kill people early too!
So, back to the brain: first step to this is surgery to remove it. It is confirmed that the tumor was breast cancer and I am waiting on the pathology to determine if it is HER2+ or triple negative or something different. Right now, I have NO CANCER that we can tell. That's a really great thing. It's nowhere in my body as confirmed by CT and PET scans. It's also nowhere that they can see in my brain based on post surgical MRI scans.
What the future? That's the big question! It involves taking the drugs that "control" the HER2 status. These drugs I will be on for as long as they work (so hopefully forever!). It involves another round of chemotherapy to kill any microscopic cells that are circulating around my body and brain. It could possibly involve radiation to the brain to kill any microscopic cells that are sitting up there.
For me, that's the scariest thing: radiation to the brain. How might that change me? It seems more permanent than the chemo. I have some big decisions to make.
The other thing is work....what becomes of work?????? I love my job. I love what I do. Will I be able to continue? That is a big question as well. But, as those that know me, denial isn't just a river in Africa! It's my coping! So I will defer those questions to when I have more information!
So bottom line:
all breast cancer
all gone from body
God, good living, and following doctors orders will keep it that way!
I will see my oncologist past her retirement!
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