Today we had a meeting with the surgeon and the oncologist. The final results of the biopsy/surgery were complete. It appears they removed all of the cancer. The margins were clear and the lymph nodes were clear. The second suspicious spot turned out not to be cancer. There was just the one tumor that measured 1.3cm. I am at stage 1, which means we caught it early.
The oncologist does recommend I do chemotherapy. Even though it seems the cancer has been removed, there could still be a cancer cell somewhere that they want to make sure to get rid of. The oncologist we met with today recommends a combination of 2 drugs (docetaxel/taxotere and cyclophosphamid/cytoxan). I would get it 4 times total - once every 3 weeks = 12 weeks total. Most likely that will begin around the middle of November.
We plan to get a second opinion in Austin and hopefully be able to do the chemotherapy there.
Oh, and we got the results back from the gene test a few days ago. I do have the BRCA1 gene mutation, which was not a surprise.
Overall, I feel really good about the news we got today. It was the best possible outcome.
My pain is a lot better now. It's more of a discomfort than pain. I'm just alternating Tylenol and Advil and that seems to be enough to keep things under control. I'm still very tired, but I can tell that's getting better too.
Thanks again for all of your emails, thoughts, prayers, etc.
Rachel
7 comments:
Thank You for the update.
(Hugs!)
No wonder you were on my mind this morning and in my prayers! Praise God- what a great result! Will continue to pray for you and your family!
maggie
Oh this is such good news. Prayers of thanksgiving and joy over here. Will continue to keep my prayers going for you and your family.
I also think you are a brave person to share your experiences and you will likely help others to detect problems early.
Take care. VERY happy to hear the good news.
Ginger
Hello! I am a fellow blogger and read about you on Angela's Coupon Project. I recently wrote a post about a great service for women going through cancer treatment. It's called Cleaning for a Reason and they provide once a month housecleaning services for up to four months. I'm not sure where you live, but you can look at their site and see if the service is available to you. Here is my post with more information: http://lonestarlifer.wordpress.com/2009/10/06/cleaning-for-a-reason/. Best wishes for a complete recovery. Paula
That is such good news! Glad to hear they think they got it all. It will be hard to go through chemo over the holidays, but you are strong and you will get through. Glad to hear the pain is getting better. Thanks for the update, we're still praying for you here!
what great news thank you for the update. you and your family are in my prayers. i love your site your the 1st to put up the upcoming week cvs ad. Be strong your fellow couponers are all with you in your recovery. your not alone
Rachel, I have been thinking of you often. I am so glad to hear such good news. I hope you are feeling better and better every day. Many prayers for you.
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