Big Day

So the good news is......I don't have any cavities.

Apparently once you're undergoing chemotherapy it is dangerous to have dental work done - something about bacteria being released into the blood stream.  So I went to the dentist this morning. I haven't been to the dentist in 3 years, so I think I might have been almost as nervous about impending dental work as I was about the cancer appointment.

But, as I said, no cavities!!! :)

The dentist was surprised at the amount of teeth grinding I've been doing. He has no idea.

So the bad news is.......I still have cancer.

Some little tiny bit of me thought I might walk into the surgeon's office today and he would say, "Oh, sorry pretty lady, we read the results wrong. You're perfectly fine!"

Alas, no.

Not only do I still have cancer, but I actually have more than I thought. Yay!

So here's the scoop:

Removal of the big main lump might not necessitate a mastectomy. However, there is a second lesion further back that can not be felt that may or may not be cancer. 

If the second lesion is not cancer, I might get away with a lumpectomy. If this is the case, doing chemo first might shrink the main tumor to make a lumpectomy less bad and would take care of the cancer in my lymph nodes.

However, if the second lesion is cancer then it doesn't matter. The whole thing must go. Doing chemo first will still probably cut down on the chances of the surgeon having to remove lots of lymph nodes (which is a bad thing).

All of this depends on the MRI that I get on Friday that will tell me if the second lesion is cancer. I will also be getting a PET scan on Thursday to make sure our extroverted cancer has not been making friends with other parts of my body. 

So........probably will be doing chemo first starting in a few weeks. That lasts for about 6 months. Then I'll have whatever surgery is warranted. Also sometime in the next few weeks I will have some genetic testing to see if I have the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation. If I do then I will probably end up with a double mastectomy.

So many options! It's like Let's Make A Deal except I don't get to pick the door.

I took all of this in relatively well today, and actually almost made it out of the office without crying, until I was told that Blue Cross Blue Shield doesn't automatically cover MRIs and that I wouldn't know if I would have to pay $4000 out of pocket until after the procedure was already done. Crazy, right? Who says we don't need health reform?!?!

Luckily, the folks in the surgeon's office are excellent and were not phased by my awkward sniffling. They figured things out for me and we made it out into the parking lot before I totally lost it.

We then proceeded to go get our flu shots so I don't come down with the flu while I have a compromised immune system.

Dentist, surgeon, flu shot.

Big day.

Next steps? Meet with the Oncologist tomorrow to confirm when chemo will start. 

Hopefully it falls in line with our trip to Hawaii that is coming up in a few weeks......of course that means no snorkeling and no diving for me while we're there. Guess I'll have to come up with something else to do.  Stand up paddleboarding? Parasailing? Who knows......

I think I need a cocktail. I think you should have one, too.

Cocktail pairing: Cupcake Petite Sirah.