January 27, 2012 - Appointment with Oncologist & Surgeon

January 27th - I, along with Don and Marie, went to another appointment to see the Oncologist - Dr Time Moynihan, and to meet the surgeon - Dr Boughey, that will be doing my surgery in 3-4 months.  Dr Boughey is known to be a wonderful surgeon and she explained to me what the options could be once the chemo treatments are completed in 3-4 months.  She said depending on how the tumor reacts to the chemo treatments and how much it shrinks,would determine which method of surgery would take place. 
Options are - a lumpectomy, a mastectomy to the right breast or a double mastectomy.  She indicated that because of the tumor size that a lumpectomy would NOT be an option unless the chemo treatments performed a miracle.  She said that I would have to meet with a plastic surgeon and a radiation therapist down the road.  The plastic surgeon would be needed if I decided that I wanted reconstructive surgery done following the surgery or after the radiation treatments.  I really like Dr. Boughey, she too was very understanding and very easy to talk to.

After the meeting with the surgeon, Dr. Tim came in and reviewed the results to all the tests that I had earlier that week.  He said that I am in Stage III breast cancer because of the size of the tumer (10cm) and the lymph node involvement.  He said that I would probably have to take hormones 5-10 years after the radiation treatments are completed.  He said that I was negative for HER2 gene ( to read more about HER2 click on link  - http://breastcancer.about.com/od/diagnosis/p/her2_diagnosis.htm).  He indicated that he was very happy that this came back negative!!!  I also asked him about the results of my blood work.  I had noticed that all the blood values were within normal limits which seemed odd to me given my prognosis.  He said that was a good thing and was another defining factor that showed that the cancer has not spread to any other organs!!  His words were - I quote "Your blood work results are boring and that is exactly what we want to see!!  A couple small victories for me - again a couple small fist pumps!!

At this point we are waiting for the results from USF and then the chemo treatments will begin.  He said this will be roughly around February 8th. Until then, I will be at home possibly doing some 'easy' work things from there.  If you feel the need to call, please do so.  I am always willing to talk as I find that it benefits me and most likely you too! 

I love you all!!  And mostly importantly - thank you all for your support.  I couldn't make it through this without all of you!!  You’re Awesome and God Bless!