I had my mammogram last Friday and it was nice and clean.
Then, this morning? I got a phone call from Alta Bates. My PET CT, taken last Monday, also quite clean.
The relief is coming out in little spurts. I'm sure I'll be crying sometime today. Oh, wait. Yep, there it is--the watery eye.
<sigh> Have I mentioned lately? Life is good.
Showing posts with label CT scan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CT scan. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Monday, September 10, 2007
2B or not 2B?
Frank and I saw Dr. Kuan today, to go over the pathology report and to discuss chemotherapy. What a long appointment.
First, the details. The CT scan showed the breast lump and the rather large lymph node in my armpit, but that's it. So, yay, we get a zero on theM(etastisis) for the TNM staging for breast cancer. We told Dr. Kuan that Dr. Broderick had said I was staged at 3A (67% survival rate) and she looked confused. She said, no, a T(umor)2 and N(odes)1 meant a 2B. She looked through the pathology report and we talked about lymph nodes that are "matted," which can move a stage 2B to a 3A, but she said the pathology report showed no indication of this, so we're going to take that 2B with no further argument, thank you very much. All in all, given the TNM "score" combined with the fact that the tumor was "high grade" (i.e. aggressive), gives me a 75% survival rate. (But as my oncologist friend, Carla, reminds us, "these statistics refer to large numbers of people, not to individuals.")
After clarifying those details, Dr. Kuan let me know that the cancer center is doing a clinical test on Taxol infusions. If I sign up for the test, my chemotherapy would consist of 4 bi-weekly infusions of Doxorubicin (Adriamycin) and cyclophosphamide [abbreviated AC], and then either 12 weekly infusions or 6 bi-weekly infusions of paclitaxel (Taxol). The benefit of taking part in a clinical trial, of course, is that you have even more doctors watching your condition. So, despite the fact that weekly infusions would be a drag from the perspective of getting on with life, we are considering it.
We got to meet the nurse for Dr. Kuan's practice, Lisa Mune, who showed us how the "port" works for the chemo infusions. You can go here for an image of where the port goes. This port, which is surgically inserted under the skin, enables the nurses to give me my chemo meds and to draw blood without having to find a vein every other week. We're hoping that Dr. Broderick can put in the port when he's doing the recision to get more of the margins (still no word on when that will occur, yet).
But, if you look at the image, you'll note that meds go right into the vena cava, which leads right to the heart. So, to make sure my heart can handle all this (the Adriamycin, the "A" part of the AC, is hard on the heart) I'm having a heart scan (MUGA) on Thursday morning.
Whew. What a day.
On a positive note--I went camping this past weekend with the moms and daughters in Maggie's girl scout troop. There were four girls and four moms in Marin and it was lovely. I came home on Sunday utterly exhausted. But I'm figuring I won't be doing much of that kind of thing for at least the next six to nine months, and I wanted the Maggie time.
First, the details. The CT scan showed the breast lump and the rather large lymph node in my armpit, but that's it. So, yay, we get a zero on the
After clarifying those details, Dr. Kuan let me know that the cancer center is doing a clinical test on Taxol infusions. If I sign up for the test, my chemotherapy would consist of 4 bi-weekly infusions of Doxorubicin (Adriamycin) and cyclophosphamide [abbreviated AC], and then either 12 weekly infusions or 6 bi-weekly infusions of paclitaxel (Taxol). The benefit of taking part in a clinical trial, of course, is that you have even more doctors watching your condition. So, despite the fact that weekly infusions would be a drag from the perspective of getting on with life, we are considering it.
We got to meet the nurse for Dr. Kuan's practice, Lisa Mune, who showed us how the "port" works for the chemo infusions. You can go here for an image of where the port goes. This port, which is surgically inserted under the skin, enables the nurses to give me my chemo meds and to draw blood without having to find a vein every other week. We're hoping that Dr. Broderick can put in the port when he's doing the recision to get more of the margins (still no word on when that will occur, yet).
But, if you look at the image, you'll note that meds go right into the vena cava, which leads right to the heart. So, to make sure my heart can handle all this (the Adriamycin, the "A" part of the AC, is hard on the heart) I'm having a heart scan (MUGA) on Thursday morning.
Whew. What a day.
On a positive note--I went camping this past weekend with the moms and daughters in Maggie's girl scout troop. There were four girls and four moms in Marin and it was lovely. I came home on Sunday utterly exhausted. But I'm figuring I won't be doing much of that kind of thing for at least the next six to nine months, and I wanted the Maggie time.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Ming Kuan, Oncologist
I met my medical oncologist today (that's the one who gets to prescribe the ickiest part of this whole process, the chemotherapy). Loved her. Dr. Ming Kuan answered all Frank's and my questions and even put us a bit at ease. (Invasive does not imply, as I had assumed, that the cancer had necessarily invaded something. The biopsy merely indicates that it has the capacity to do so. And, as we all keep saying, we'll know more after surgery. Which is less than two days away. Yay!)
Dr. Kuan ordered a CT scan just to ensure the cancer hasn't spread, and I get to do that tomorrow afternoon, after I meet with my radiation oncologist, Dr. Roig.
The nicest bit of all this news is that all my cancer doctors (except my surgeon) and nurses, etc. are all in one wonderful facility. I get to show up and they have all my info. My CT scan tomorrow? At the Comprehensive Cancer Center. My radiation oncologist? Same place. And when I go back to my medical oncologist next Tuesday, post-op? Yep, at the Cancer Center. Makes things *much* easier.
They gave me a lovely, helpful binder, with all sorts of info in it. And it has tabs for things like phone numbers, and medication lists, and lab results. Which is great. Because my little folder was beginning to show the signs of wear & tear from too much paper and from being carted around.
So. On to the CT scan and meeting my other doctor, and then, *finally*, surgery on Thursday.
Oh, and, I've shared this link with a few folks, but I've really enjoyed this woman's blog from when she had cancer last year, so I thought I'd share it with everyone: http://www.alixnorth.com/navigational-chart-breast-cancer-patients.
Dr. Kuan ordered a CT scan just to ensure the cancer hasn't spread, and I get to do that tomorrow afternoon, after I meet with my radiation oncologist, Dr. Roig.
The nicest bit of all this news is that all my cancer doctors (except my surgeon) and nurses, etc. are all in one wonderful facility. I get to show up and they have all my info. My CT scan tomorrow? At the Comprehensive Cancer Center. My radiation oncologist? Same place. And when I go back to my medical oncologist next Tuesday, post-op? Yep, at the Cancer Center. Makes things *much* easier.
They gave me a lovely, helpful binder, with all sorts of info in it. And it has tabs for things like phone numbers, and medication lists, and lab results. Which is great. Because my little folder was beginning to show the signs of wear & tear from too much paper and from being carted around.
So. On to the CT scan and meeting my other doctor, and then, *finally*, surgery on Thursday.
Oh, and, I've shared this link with a few folks, but I've really enjoyed this woman's blog from when she had cancer last year, so I thought I'd share it with everyone: http://www.alixnorth.com/navigational-chart-breast-cancer-patients.
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