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
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
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