Team Uh-May-Zing!

joyfulaloha

Uh…

Wait.

Am “I” going through this door?

I was excited and ready to go meet my new oncologist!

I was not so ready to walk through THIS door. I had to take a minute.. take a breath.

Dr. Ari, “We are going to treat this to cure it.. Forever.”

I have a team now which includes, myself, Dr. Dunham – breast surgeon, Dr. Ari Umutyan -medical oncologist, and a radiation oncologist TBD. (as well as my husband and family.. and school family, too!)

MRI – Magnetic Resonance Imagining

MRI scheduled for Tuesday, 9/4 at 12:30 will show if there are any other tumors in the left breast, any in the right, and if my lymph nodes are swollen. If either of these things are found, I’ll be referred back to a radiologist for more biopsies.

  • PROS: Will show images of tumors within dense breasts, such as mine, as well as lobular tumors which are usually not detected by a mammogram. Even targeted mammography did not show the palpable lump on my left side. For these reasons in the future, I will probably need MRIs for maintenance & prevention instead of mammograms.
  • CONS: Possibility of showing images of dense clusters of tissue that are referred to biopsy that end up benign, “false positives”.

Radiology Report

Reviewed radiology addendum report on 8/21/18 from the original 8/16 report on biopsy. ER+(estrogen response), PR+(progesterone response), and HER-2+  (human epidermal receptor2)  WOULD indicate a positive response to hormonal therapy treatment. EXPECTED lobular positive percentage would be 90-100%.

My results were as follows:

  • ER+ 57%,
  • PgR+ 68%, and
  • HER2: Equivocal (positive would be 3+, and negative would be 1+, my results were 2+)

Dr. Ari was curious about these findings, and said he truly won’t understand them until after surgery and the complete tumor has been tested. (could be another type of cancer hiding in there, (BLECH) and not yet detectable in the biopsy) So technically, they are positive and would indicate my cancer would be receptive to hormone therapy… but my numbers are barely positive.

Now What? Referrals!

  • Referral to Genetic Counselor, Kate Mott,  for genetic testing since my biological father’s genetics are unknown. I believe my paternal grandmother had breast cancer(?) Results may play a role in treatment. (full vs. partial mastectomy)They may; however, not be ready in time for treatment on this tumor.  If the results show a predisposed BRCA mutation – We will have to discuss at that time.
  • Referral to Dr. Diana Devera as a primary care physician to monitor blood pressure which has been high over the last year or so.
  • Lab orders for:

The precious heart of a Chef Husband

Tom is interested in creating a new page on my blog to share a recovery diet treatment with recipes. Done usually after local treatment and during systemic treatment, patients are referred to the Synergy Wellness Center at the hospital for nutritional and physical health. Dr. Ari recommended that Claudia Davis, my new Breast Health Nurse Navigator, connect us with the Wellness Center registered dietician when we see her on Wednesday!

Hormones & Chemicals

I guess if I’m going to share my journey on here, I need to be transparent. That’s fine.. can do. I’ve learned I’m fare more part of a big club than a loner. Perhaps this will help someone realize they aren’t alone being Coo-Coo-Choo-Choo either. he heeheee

After I had Gracie in 2002, I had typical post-partum depression and was prescribed a low-dose serotonin uptake inhibitor. It slowly faded.. adapted really into an odd, cyclical side-effect. 2-3 days before each period I would get severe paranoia. You know that obnoxious voice in your head that yaps constantly? Well this voice I couldn’t shut-up, and it just repeated bullshit ad nauseam.

With a patient doctor, a determined patient, and too many trials and errors, we found a perfect lil concoction just for me. My perfect recipe for PMS Coo-Coo-Choo-Choo is Wellbutrin+low dose birth control pill+Vitamin D3 5000iu. Well… that WAS.. past tense my recipe. Now I have Cancer that feeds off of hormones. Estrogen and Progesterone accelerate its multiplying growth. So no more BC pills for me, and as I’ve just learned, it OK to keep taking Wellbutrin.

Sooooo, Dr. Ari asked about getting an IUD. My response was something about checking with insurance..$1,200 out of pocket was pretty steep. He stopped what he was doing in my file, turned his whirly chair toward me, and with a matter-of-fact reality check he responded, “Well.. we may not have a choice anymore, do we? You can NOT get pregnant.” I heard his non-verbal, ‘period, end of discussion.’ to end his quote. Makes sense.. pregnancy hormones stimulate rapid breast cell growth. Rapid breast cell growth is most definitely NOT a part of my future. So.. off to Dr. Susana Gonzalez for a copper IUD.

Keeping it real… and positive!

“I’m going to assume that after the MRI, Dr. Dunham does surgery right away. Those results, as well as the further tests I’ve ordered will all be completed for us to review together at that time. (YEEHAW, I like his positive thinking!) New appointment made for Tuesday, October 2nd at 8:45

More than likely…unless the MRI and/or new biopsies show something out of the expected.. I may not need chemo!!! Breast conservation surgery and 4-6 weeks of radiation.. then back to work… CANCER FREE!!!!