"One Brown Shoe and One Black Shoe" or "Not my Lucky Shoes"

March 11, 2009

I went to the Providence Comprehensive Breast center for a Stereotactic Core biopsy on Monday, March 9, 2009. In this procedure, samples of the area surrounding the calcifications are taken through a hollow needle. The radiologist took 6 total samples to be sent to a Pathologist to be tested for cancer. This was the first time that I saw the images of my breast. There it was, 10 - 12 tiny white spots in a tight cluster. It did not look good to me. I think that it was in that image that I knew what the diagnosis would be.

Two days later, Dan and I returned to the Breast Center to learn of the results. We were there on time but had to wait 15 minutes for our appointment. I had already read the magazines in the waiting room, remember this is now my third visit to that office, my first having been to the Everett Clinic in Marysville. I was just waiting anxiously, trying not to eavesdrop on the conversations of others, when I noticed that I had put on two different colored clogs that morning. Dan & I had shared a good giggle over that, which is nice to do when you're waiting to find out whether or not you have cancer. The Lord has been gracious in giving me many comical moments throughout this process. I always enjoy a good laugh, and if it is at my own expense then so much the better. Sadly, the laughter would be quieted for that day, as this was not going to be my lucky pair of shoes.....we received the news - Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma.

Stage I is where they started with my tumor, they estimated it was about 1 cm in size, and assumed no lymph node involvement. The cancer cells are positive for Estrogen and Progesterone receptors. This means that my type of cancer feeds off of the estrogen and progesterone my body produces. It did not escape me that I have also been on birth control pills for 10 years, essentially adding even more estrogen into my system. The good news is, that there is a drug which has been around for a long time, which blocks the cells from absorbing any of the estrogen or progesterone, thus inhibiting the growth of any future cancers. The drug is called Tamoxifen, and it comes with the lovely side effect of hot flashes.

I also had an MRI of my breasts, which is useful in looking for cancers in a different way. the MRI shows cells that are more vascular, which is a sign of cancer. The MRI showed my tumor, but did not show any vascularity in my lymph nodes - wahoo!

My treatment was going to be a lumpectomy followed by radiation and a five year course of Tamoxifen, assuming that all was as it appeared. This was the most common type of breast cancer, caught early, 98% survival rate. Of course, things can change once they get a better look, and they did change after my surgery.