Day 6: It Gets Real
Today I met with the Oncologist/Hematologist who will be in charge of my chemotherapy. As I write that sentence it seems surreal that it is about me. At least until I look at my Doctor’s name and I realize that once again the universe is showing that it’s warped sense of humor is even more twisted than mine.
Dr. Jaffar
I swear it’s true. Except for the extra “f” my chemo doc has almost the same name as the villain in Aladdin.
Fortunately that’s where the similarity ends.
The very first thing he did was pull out my reports and go over them with me line by line explaining in detail what the different terms meant in this context, the purpose and results of each test, and how all of those things related to my care plan options.
Breaking it down further:
Infiltrating Mammary Ductal Carcinoma – means that the nasty critter that has decided to camp out in my boob didn’t like his original camp site, so he’s poking around hunting for places to take up permanent residence, maybe even build a vacation home. Unfortunately for me, he’s doing this in my body rather than heading for Tybee Island or the Hamptons. I won’t know until after my surgery if he’s actually poured a foundation anywhere else or if he’s just still shopping around for the perfect view. By the way, I’ve named my tumor Floyd. The name fits how I mentally picture him. We name hurricanes so why not our tumors? Both things have the potential to wreak havoc and take lives.
Size – Floyd was about 20mm at the time of the biopsy so he’s right on the edge between T1 and T2 tumor classifications. The only catch is that he pitched his tent next to my chest wall. If some of that connective tissue is involved then it will push me into T4 territory. So here’s hoping Floyd isn’t into climbing walls!
Hormone Receptors – Estrogen – Positive; Progesterone – Negative; HER2 – Negative – Floyd likes the taste of estrogen but isn’t a fan of the other hormones. What this means is that the presence of estrogen boosts Floyd’s growth, so by utilizing certain hormone therapies we can cut off his estrogen gravy train and try to starve him out, reducing his growth potential. These findings narrow down which drugs will be most effective in fighting any mini-Floyds that try to hang on after the surgery.
After talking through the options and the recurrence probabilities of each the final decision was reached.
Double mastectomy with implant reconstruction when possible
TAC chemotherapy – (Taxotere, Adriamycin, Cytoxan all infused at the same time) I am guaranteed to lose all of my hair and probably be nauseous for the entire 18 weeks.
Happy happy joy joy
Getting diagnosed with breast cancer sucks, but not getting diagnosed and dying would suck infinitely worse.
Winning The Booby Prize 