Good news...

First of all, before I begin, let me apologize for the length of my posts! Greg says i write too much, but I had to explain to him that this is therapy for me and it's hard to get all of this into one little paragraph. (He's not much of a reader anyways, and if it's not in Sports Illustrated, he doesn't read it!) So...on to my good news...I needed this so much! Dr. Gococo's nurse called me yesterday to tell me that my PET Scan came back clear from other cancer! What an answer to prayer! They saw some activity around the surgery site, but that was expected due to the surgery- not that there is more cancer there. When the nurse called me, I was driving on the road, and I think I almost ran a red light because I was so excited and not paying attention to the road (ooops)! I'm sure that has never happened to you, right?
Anyways, Greenwood Genetics called me this morning to set up my genetics testing appointment for November 18th. I asked to be on the cancellation list to see if I could get in earlier if possible. The genetics testing is to see if I am a carrier of the BRCA1 & BRCA2 gene- the breast cancer gene. Forgive me if I already wrote this in an earlier post, but if I am a carrier, then I have a 70% chance of getting BC again and a 40% chance of getting ovarian cancer. So, knowing if I carry that gene, that will help me make decisions about having a double mastectomy and a hysterectomy. And not to mention, knowing this for Mallory Kate's future. Let's pray that I am not a carrier of those genes!
Also, I am waiting the results of another test that I haven't talked about. It's called the oncotype test. This test is run from my biopsy from surgery and will yield results of how effective chemotherapy is for my cancer. Dr. Go already said that he probably wouldn't change his course of recommended treatment based on these results, but it is still good information. You get a "score" from 1-100. They look at your tumor cells and assess the risk of recurrence you have and assign it a number. The higher the risk of recurrence, the greater the benefit from chemo. A score of 0-11 means little benefit from chemo; 12-30 means medium benefit from chemo; and above 30 means definite benefit from chemo. So, I'm really not sure if you "want" a high number or low number- I guess it is what it is! But Dr. Go said that since I had lymph node involvement, and that it's a stage III aggressive cancer, chemo followed by radiation, followed by Tamoxifen is the best plan of treatment for me. So, I meet with Dr. Go again on Thursday and we'll go from there. At this point, I still think (and hope) chemo will start on Monday, Oct. 13th. I decided I would rather get chemo treatments on a Monday, to give myself the week to recover- while the kids are at school/ daycare. Then hopefully, I'll be feeling better by the weekend and can spend time with my family!
I've had the question, "How are you really feeling?" Well, after surgery, I have to admit, I was very discouraged about the lymph node involvement, and then to find out last week it was moved to a "Stage IIIa" was a downer for me. I got on the Internet and read horrible things about survival rates with my stage. But I prayed and have been prayed for by tons of people! And I think that is why I feel so much better this week! I am not going to let BC take me down without a fight- and I will do whatever it takes for a victory! The road ahead is bumpy, and I need the prayer to roll me smoothly over it! I'm in God's hands and He has the perfect plan. (Although I'm not so sure God has pictured me bald, ...I don't think it's going to be a pretty sight! Haha)
Side note...Someone (who I don't even know) mailed me the most precious package with a handmade beanie hat and a "Faith" bag to take to all my appointments. I pulled all of my hair up in the beanie hat and turned to Greg. He laughed and said, "Don't do that yet!" So, I know I will look funny, but it is temporary...Thank God for that! Well, off to cleaning the house!