Doctor Visit

Today I had my first visit with Dr. Westbrook, my oncologist. I have been seeing him for over 15 years so I have a lot of faith and confidence in him. I went to high school with both of his daughters and his grandson is in the same class in school as Eli. He was the first director of the Arkansas Cancer Research Center at UAMS.

The news was pretty good, as far as I am concerned. I will try to recount all that he said. There are more tests to be done, but at this point in time, he feels we will be able to do a lumpectomy versus a mastectomy - which is great news to me! We have scheduled a PET Scan for March 14th which will scan the rest of my body for any suspicious spots. I will then have an MRI on the 19th that will provide a closer look at both breasts. We are having to wait until my hematoma dissipates before we can do the MRI. We will make a decision about lumpectomy vs. mastectomy after those results are in.

On the day of the surgery - whether lumpectomy or mastectomy, they will inject a dye into the area of the mass and then scan to see which lymph node the dye drains in to. The affected lymph node will be removed and examined while I am on the operating table. If the lymph node is clean, they won't take any more. If there is cancer present, they will take all the lymph nodes.

A lumpectomy will most definitely be followed by radiation - 5 weeks worth, I think. The annoying part of radiation is that it happens 5 days a week for 5 weeks. And there are side effects that worry me... irritation and change in skin color, swelling of the breast, great fatigue. But most of what I read indicates that the side effects are manageable.

If there is cancer in the lymph nodes, I guess that is when chemo comes into play - 4 months worth. I am not clear if chemo will be suggested if the nodes are clean.

So far this all sounds manageable. I can do this. The idea of a lumpectomy makes me very happy. Multiple research shows there is absolutely NO DIFFERENCE in long term outcome of lumpectomy vs. mastectomy. They are the same result. I would much rather keep my breast (and especially my nipple!) if the outcome is the same. Wouldn't you?

The last thing the doctor said was that I could go skiing the last week of March. We can't schedule surgery before then and he is taking his grand kids to Acapulco the same week as our trip so he won't be in town! Still don't know if I can afford the time off from work... but at least it is an option now.

So, feeling positive today. Unless other spots show up on the scan, I think I'm going to be okay. This won't be easy - but also not as hard as I thought. I can do this.