Day 68 - Surgeon

I had an appointment with my surgeon today, and it went quite well.  He originally requested to see me mid-way through my chemo so this was a nice milestone.  I like my surgeon very much, but I was nervous going into the appointment.  I think that my nerves stemmed from the crushing blow that I received in his office on February 3 when he said "I am afraid that you might have cancer."  I called the doctor's office this morning to ask if he would please do an ultrasound while I was there because I wanted to get exact measurements on the tumor as well as have him check out some pain that I have been having under my right arm.  Good news and good news.  There is nothing suspicious under either arm, nothing suspicious on my right side at all actually, and the tumor has gone from 3.5cm (Feb 3) to 1.5cm (today).  That is significant.  Very significant.

I do have cysts on my right side and on my left for that matter, but I've always had those.  Cysts are harmless..just there and sometimes palpable.  The doctor spent a lot of time talking to me and asking how I was doing, and we also talked about surgical options for quite a while.  The final decision there is ultimately mine, but I think that both my oncologist and surgeon lean toward lumpectomy.  Here are the options:

1. Lumpectomy followed by radiation
2. Bilateral mastectomy with no radiation

If I have a mastectomy, I will only have radiation if there is lymph node involvement, which seems unlikely based on everything that we know right now.   If I have a lumpectomy, I will absolutely have radiation on the surgical area as well as under my arm.  My oncologist told me that he's read some studies that radiation is good for TNBC so I think that it is something that I want.  I am not afraid of radiation though I know that there are potential risks and side effects.

My surgeon recommended making an appointment to meet with a radiation oncologist to learn more about radiation and to help me make a decision.  I like that idea and will look forward to setting up that appointment. The more information, the better for me. 

At one point during my appointment, the doctor was asking me about the side effects from chemo so I went through the whole list.  When I told him that I always feel better before my next treatment, he laughed and said "that's when you know it is time for more chemo."  So true.  They build you up and knock you back down.

Today was a very good day.  Very good.  I keep getting positive and encouraging news, and it really does help me maintain a mostly positive outlook.  I also felt pretty well all day today and was able to get a ton accomplished at work.  My extreme tiredness seems to be waning a bit too.  Last night, I was so tired that I passed on a piece of chocolate cake.  Please let that sink in - I chose sleep over cake.