And We Wait

I had an appointment with the oncologist today to go over my pathology report and create a plan for the future.  I've been excited and nervous for this appointment.  I am ready to have a plan in place and get things moving.

Well, we are still waiting.  My pathology report was somewhat inconclusive and more testing needs to happen before we make a decision on the next step.  The good news is the tumor was only 1 cm and the margins were clear.  There was nothing additional found in the breast tissue.  The confusing news is about the lymph nodes.   The dye only reached two so only two lymph nodes were taken out and tested.  One was negative.  Yay!!!  One was micro metastatic  1..8mm.  So, what do we do next?  The oncologist thought we needed more information from more lymph nodes.  That means more surgery.  BOOOO!!!

After discussing the impact of additional surgery on my arm strength/usage, we decided to wait on surgery.  An oncotype dx test will be performed on my slides and the results of that test will  help determine the next step.  So, I'll be waiting on those results for the next 4 weeks or so.  What does that all mean?  I'm glad I have a great treatment team to figure out my options and help me balance the risk of cancer vs. the risk of side effects.  I certainly couldn't figure this all out on my own.

My mom asked me if I had been praying for patience since I'm sure getting reasons to practice patience lately.  :)  I wonder when I will have learned patience.  I know I'm not there yet.  This waiting is about to drive me crazy!!!

Thankful thoughts for today:

Treatment Team

Lortab

Sunshine

Fresh Air

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