Day 169 - PCR

I'd like to say that today has been a good day, but "good" does not quite cover it.  Today has been an incredible day and one that I will never forget.  My surgeon called me at around 11:45am to tell me that my pathology report came in and showed no residual disease.  I got a pathological complete response...the PCR that I have been chasing since my first day of chemo and the reason that I begged for more chemo to be added to my regimen (seriously, who does that).

All of the tissue that my surgeon removed was either normal tissue or scar tissue, and the 3 lymph nodes that he removed were free of any disease as well.  This is a big deal.  A huge deal.  I tried to find an actual research article to link here, but I couldn't find anything that was remotely easy to read.  I found an excerpt that is particularly relevant: 

Patients with TNBC have increased pCR rates compared with non-TNBC, and those with pCR have excellent survival. However, patients with RD [residual disease] after neoadjuvant chemotherapy have significantly worse survival if they have TNBC compared with non-TNBC, particularly in the first 3 years.  

That's pretty heavy and illustrates why a PCR was so important to me.  It was mostly out of my control (except for the additional chemo) so really all I could do is hope for the best.  Who knows if the additional chemo had anything to do with the PCR.  Perhaps it would have happened without the carboplatin.  We'll never know, and that is fine.

My surgeon is pretty direct and to the point (I can appreciate that), and his call went a little something like this "Mrs. Touhill.  I am calling to tell you that you got what you wanted - no residual disease."  I burst into tears, thanked him profusely for calling me and told him that I would see him later for my post-surgical appointment.  I ran downstairs to tell Mike the good news, and he was on the phone.  Thankfully, he was talking to one of my uncles so my interruption was welcome and understood.  It was also handy that I could tell them both at the same time. 

I made a few more tearful (in a good way) phone calls and headed out to meet a friend for lunch.  The  other TNBC woman that I recently met (in the parking lot) and I got together for lunch, and it was a lot of fun.  She and I have a lot in common, and it was nice to be able to talk openly with someone who really understands as we club members do.

My post-op appointment was very uneventful (good).  I am healing nicely and was told to come in if I have any swelling or other issues but that my surgeon would otherwise see me in 3 months.  He also gave me the all clear to start radiation within the next 3 weeks, and his nurse got the ball rolling there before I left the office.  The PCR does not cancel out the need for radiation.  Radiation will sterilize the surgical area just in case anything went rogue.  It is highly unlikely at this point, but I won't risk anything with this nasty disease.

My radiation oncologist called me late this afternoon to check in and to let me know that someone would be calling to set up my planning/mapping appointment.  She also said "I just saw your pathology report.  Congratulations!"  She knows.  Hopefully I will hear from her office tomorrow to get my planning appointment on the calendar so that I will have a better idea of when I will start and finish radiation.

As is the case in life, there are no guarantees with anything, but I got the best possible news that I could get regarding cancer today, and I am so very grateful.  I am thankful for all of the prayers, support and love from those who are going through this right next to me.  Today was a victory for the whole team! I am honesty still absorbing it all.