The big whammy

As many of you know I was diagnosed with breast cancer in April at the age of 42. I noticed a lump in my left breast at the end of January and told my primary care physician when I saw him the following week. He asked when my mammography was scheduled and I said March 3rd, which seemed OK to him. I showed up on March 3rd for my mammography only to be told since I had a lump that it needed to be a diagnostic mammogram and I needed a new referral from my doctor and had to come back when a radiologist was present (I love manage care). Two weeks later I got an appointment and sure enough after a mammography they had to do an ultrasound and the radiologist thought the lump looked suspicious. I was referred to a surgeon and got a biopsy performed in early April. One week later on April 10th the cancer was confirmed.

Lesson to all women: please do not discount any lump you may notice no matter how small.

I set up appointments with two surgeons: one here near the house and one at Johns Hopkins. I decided to go with Johns Hopkins as their reputation is wonderful and they have an integrated breast cancer center, which includes close ties with radiology and oncology. The drive is about 1 hour from the house, but doable.

The only problem is they are so busy that three weeks after my initial visit I still do not have a surgery date. I should have one this week. I elected to have a mastectomy performed with a prophylactic mastectomy of the other breast (remove both) and immediate reconstruction using the DIEP method. Unfortunately, the plastic surgery team is all booked up and I will have to do my reconstruction later. The doctor is looking to remove the cancerous breast and lymph nodes (it has spread) right now and will remove the other breast later. I have opted for a radical mastectomy as the cancer is aggressive (has grown from 2.5 to 3 cm in one month) and due to my age I never want to experience this again (or at least reduce my odds). After 4 weeks of recovery I will begin 4 to 6 months of chemotherapy. Yes, I will loose all my hair.

For those of you who are familiar with cancer my tumor is both Estrogen and Progesterone positive and Her2Neu positive. What this means is that the cancer grows in the presence of these substances and thus I will be given both chemotherapy, and hormone suppression therapy in addition to Herceptin to stop the caner from spreading to the rest of my body.

At this time I plan on taking disability from work and give both my body and mind time to heal from this ordeal. I hope to go back to work part-time in the fall, but only time will tell.