When your diagnosed with breast cancer or any type of cancer. The fear that it could spread to other parts of the body are all so real. During my breast cancer journey, I never heard a Doctor tell me you are in remission or cancer free. My initial diagnosis was stage 2 invasive ductal carcinoma. It spread to my lymph nodes. It only takes one cancer cell to travel to another location of the body. I did ask my Oncologist for a PET scan ( a imaging test that uses radioactive substance to look for disease in the body) I was told that because of my age and diagnosis, it could lead to unnecessary invasive procedures. If hind sight was 20/20, I would have got a second opinion. Doctors do the best they can, with use of statistics and new studies. I feel that everyone doesn't fit a particular mold. As a patient you have to be proactive and your own advocate!
After I had my mastectomy, January 2015. I received my pathology report. I have Invasive ductal carcinoma HER2 positive. I also had another tumor growing in the left breast, were I had the previous lumpectomy in 2011. I had 18 lymph nodes removed on the right side , 9 of them were cancerous! I was in total shock....
My new Oncologist ordered a PET scan on February 14, 2015. I had to limit my diet to protein and no carbohydrates for 48 hours prior to the test. I was so unbelievably hungry. The following week, I received the most devastating news, that I had possible metastasis to my right 10th rib, left 12th rib and ilium. Being diagnosed with cancer is scary enough. It was my worst fear... The next week, I was scheduled for a bone scan (imaging that finds damage to the bone) to further evaluate these areas. The results are consistent with the PET scan, the right rib had the most cancerous characteristics. I still needed to have a bone biopsy to confirm the diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer. It wouldn't be considered bone cancer, because it had originated from the breast cancer.
On March 19, 2015, I had my CT scan guided bone biopsy. They use the CT scan to pinpoint the exact location of the lesion on the bone to obtain a sample. I was awake during the procedure, just a mild sedative, pain medication and local anesthesia. I had to lay on my stomach stomach, which was difficult because of my hard and plastic Barbie breast. In order for the Doctor to access the iliac through the lateral left buttock. It was slightly painful, with the initial needle poke of local anesthetic. I mostly felt pressure and very little pain. The procedure took about an hour. I had quite a bit of pain and a slight limp for a couple of days. A week later, I received the best news ever... Negative for cancer!!! All I could say was thank you Jesus! It felt like a ton of bricks had been lifted off my shoulders. Within the next week my Doctor will order another biopsy, this time my right rib. I rather have an additional invasive test, than to wonder if there is cancer in that region. A peace of mind is all I can ask for, in the midst of uncertainty! I will update the results in a later post.
No comments:
Post a Comment