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Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Surgeon #1

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We saw the first surgeon today, and she was super helpful and informative. In brief:

 - I need to get an MRI before surgery so all possible tumors are visible - sounds like this is pretty standard

 - based on what she is seeing in the pathology report, most indicators are showing that I will likely not have to have radical surgery

 - If it's a lumpectomy (of which I'm hopeful), that could be day surgery (wow! I had no idea that a hospital stay was not a "for sure" event)


Some general things we learned that were news to me:

 -  the word "invasive" in the phrase "invasive ductal carcinoma" is scarier that it needs to be - this surgeon likes to use the word "infiltrative" - it means the tumor has infiltrated the ductal wall and is on the outside

 - 80% of breast cancers are not familial - in other words, just because my mother had cancer didn't mean I was automatically going to get it, and conversely, just because you don't have family history of it, that doesn't give you immunity. One in eight women will have some sort of breast cancer. I know that's not "good news" - but please take it as a friendly reminder to all of us women to self-check regularly :-)

 - there are a lot more indicators than just the Stage 1, 2, 3 etc. now.

 - one reason it's recommended not to spend too much time researching on the internet is because things are changing so fast - something that was completely accurate and relevant two years ago, could be completely outdated now


Another appointment tomorrow - more knowledge to gain.

1 comment:

  1. Big week, Jude! Praying for clarity and the right surgeon to "bubble up" in a definitive way.

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