#26 Pathology update 03-30-2011

We had a visit with the oncologist this morning and were able to obtain a copy of the pathology report. I'll be kind and spare everyone the "Doctor Speak" of the report. I figure that if you're here you either knew where you were going.... or you're lost as hell and wondering what the heck is going on. All those 17 letter words meaning front and rear or left and right would only serve to add to your confusion.

Translated into every day terms they made a football shaped incision <----- biggest Dr. word I'll use....... on her left breast removing a section if skin including the aureola and nipple along with three ulcerations which had been there for well over a year. Inside they removed the main tumor and several smaller items of interest as well as two lymph nodes. Top and bottom of the opening were drawn together and secured inside with two layers of regular stitches and the skin with 25 stainless steel staples.

All of that is healing nicely and the tenderness going away too. Downside of the (former) breast not hurting her anymore is that now she is more aware of pain in her hips. That aside the report on the stuff removed confirmed that it was cancer (no surprise there) but it also said that the main mass consisted of a cancerous outer layer covering a dead mass. That was significant to us because it did prove that the alternative methods were killing the cancer!

Because of the pain in her hips and left shoulder (which had all given her trouble in the past) the oncologist suggested an MRI to get a better idea of what is going on in there. So the first Thursday in April she'll go have that done. They will scan her shoulder, upper spine, ribs and hips. Our regular D.O. seems to think the problem is either arthritis or bursitis...... both of which can be controlled or treated. We're having the MRI done to find out for certain what the problem is.

Meanwhile Becky is going off the arimidex and starting Tamoxifen. Tamoxifen works by blocking various receptor cells on the cancer and thereby fooling the cancer into thinking it's feeding. Doing so ultimately causes the cancer to basically starve to death. (couldn't happen to a nicer Lytic metastases) (okay..... I lied about the big Dr. words) To simplify.... that's an area of the bone which is weakened by cancer activity. Now.... to be clear.... Becky does NOT have bone cancer..... rather she has breast cancer which has spread (metastasized) to the bones.... so we're still treating breast cancer. The difference is that we're treating it just a little bit differently from this point forward.

Part of the reason for that is that the estrogen inhibitor (arimidex) that she was taken can also serve to weaken the bones. This is because estrogen plays a roll in maintaining healthy bones so it stands to reason that less estrogen in circulation can lead to poor bone health. While Becky had the tumor in her breast there was a rational trade-off to be made. Since her cancer was estrogen receptive it made sense to risk using that therapy to help kill the cancer. While what remains is still technically breast cancer there is also far less of it in her bones and there are other, more effective, treatments which can be utilized to treat this cancer IN the bones. These treatments serve to both destroy the cancer while attempting to maintain and strengthen the involved bone.

The Tamoxifen is the killer aspect of the therapy. Once the results of the MRI are in hand that will help determine what ancillary treatments will be employed. One option is the addition of a form of Bisphosphonate. This family of drugs helps build and maintain bones. Targeted radiation is also on the table for the first time during our battle. This, when combined with minerals such as strontium, can not only kill the cancer but also strengthen the bones.

Otherwise we continue to move forward with an ever positive attitude and a continuing love of life. We continue to do those things which we enjoy doing and making plans for future events and outings. Give up..... defeat..... and failure are not a part of our vocabulary.

Take care of each other!

Peace

#25 Surgery

On the 8th of March 2011 we checked Becky into the Hampton South Hospital for surgery on her left breast and a few benign lumps on her scalp. How did we get to this point? Well, from the beginning Becky had been against Chemo and Radiation therapy. Surgery, however, had always been an option which we may elect to use at some point.

The decision was made by Becky since it IS her body and she was the one who had to live with both the procedure and the lack of a breast for the rest of her life. My main job (besides chief researcher) has always been simply to support Becky every step of the way. I voiced my opinion which was that 1) I had no objections to the surgery at all and 2) I felt that by eliminating the tumors in her breast we stood a much better chance of eliminating the other cancers in her body. She agreed and we spoke with the surgeon and he scheduled the operation for us.

The operation began about 0930 and only lasted about 35 minutes. She spent about 2 hours in recovery outside the operating suite before I was permitted to escort her up to her room. Once there she was basically in and out of consciousness for the next 24 hours. It seems that her body reacted more than expected to the anesthesia.

What happened was that her entire left breast and two adjacent lymph nodes were removed. While there was no sign of involvement the nodes were removed as a precautionary measure. Within the breast was one large mass (roughly golf ball size at this point and 4 smaller masses which were laid out radially around the main mass through a 180 degree arc towards the center of her chest. She has about an 8 inch incision running horizontally across her chest then upward towards her arm pit. It is closed with perhaps 25 staples and she has two vacuum assisted drain tubes located about an inch and a half apart and perhaps an inch below the main incision.

All the questionable tissue was sent to pathology and we should have those results in about two weeks. It will be interesting to see how well our alternative therapy has worked. We know it has been successful at shrinking the tumor mass. What we're interested in is if it has also been successful in actually killing or converting the cancer.

As I said before.... she was mostly asleep for the first 24 hours following the operation. This was supposed to be a day surgery however her reaction to the anesthesia was not going to permit her to leave that day. On Wednesday she was still quite groggy at breakfast time. By lunch, however, she was much more alert and able to eat a good bit of her meal. The Doctor's opinion though was that she really should spend one more day in the hospital.... and that she should take a shower.

It's the Doctor's belief that showers are therapeutic for patients. Naturally they feel cleaner afterwords but the shower is also a relaxing experience. He was right. Becky felt much better after having a shower and getting into a new gown. About an hour after the shower she was walking the hallway for exercise and to get her circulation going. We took a short walk first then a longer one several hours later.

On the third morning she was awake and quite alert when I arrived shortly before 0800. She ate the majority of her breakfast and we waited for the Doctor to arrive and make his assessment. He arrived about 10 and was pleased with the progress he saw. Since she was more lucid today he fully explained what had happened during the surgery and answered all of our questions. This Doctor is a *very* caring man and we both feel blessed that we were able to find him to help us in our battle with cancer.

He said that she had made great progress and that she could be released...... right after she took a shower. So we got her into the shower again and she did spend a good 15 minutes in there enjoying the nice warm water. Dried, dressed and ready the nurse showed up with a wheel chair and we rolled her towards the front door. She got into the car all by herself and we bid farewell to the hospital and the wonderful staff who had done such a great job.

She is home now and both resting and taking care of small projects she can do while seated. While she was gone I only saw one of the stray cats we look after at our house.... and she was the shy one! Becky gets back home and within minutes of her arrival all of the strays make an appearance for her. Okay.... I see who they like best! :-) Inside her Paige kitty wanders around for a while then jumps up into her chair to check on her and get some pets. Home seems as happy to have her back as she is to be back!

I'll post another update when we have the pathology reports back and let you folks know what was going on. Till then....... Peace