Great News

The cancer roller-coaster is a crazy one. So many ups and downs. Today is an up day. I found out today that I will only need Radiation and then medication - no Chemo. Yipee

Let me get you up to speed - in my last post it looked like Chemo was the preferred treatment. After the lumpectomy surgery and lymph node testing my surgeon said that they would be recommending chemo. So I made an appointment with my Chemo Doctor to see what came next.

To our surprise the Chemo Doctor said that the cancer cells they found in my lymph nodes were isolated cells. That meant there were very trace cells and they could preform yet another test on these cells to see if they were likely to spread. If they weren't likely to spread, he would not recommend chemo. If they were more aggressive cells - chemo was the recommendation. So - more waiting. 

That was 2 weeks ago, but today came the great news. The test came back good. I could do chemo if I felt unsure - but after much research and discussion and prayer - we feel Chemo would not decrease recurrence rate by much - not enough to go through the side effects of chemo. The Chemo Oncologist said that I have a 91% chance of the cancer never coming back with radiation and the medication tamoxifen for 5 yrs.  I think Chemo added 2 more percentage points. Either way I still have a slight chance of recurrence, but if I stay on top of my yearly exams/mammograms, worst case is that if I get it again, I'll catch it early again. 

We are very relieved and grateful. Radiation will still be an annoyance - but not too much of a life changer. They tell me they side effects are tiredness and sunburn type feeling at the radiation site. But compared to chemo - it seems like a breeze. Tamoxifen has it's own side effects but I'll take it.

I meet with the Radiation doctor next week to plan my treatments. It will most likely be 5 days a week for 7 weeks. That is usually the treatment for breast cancer. But I won't know for sure until next week.

Thank you all for your prayers and good wishes. I am surrounded by such good friends and family.

Heavenly Father gives us these trials to teach us things, I've learned very much and will continue to. But most of all I've learned that even during very challenging times, we can be blessed with a peace and strength to get through it. Thank you all - it's a good day!