The Tumor Board

Dr. Sh called me this AM to tell me about the “tumor board’s” meeting last Friday. I don’t know how many MD’s were at that meeting but I do know that Dr Sh, Dr C and Dr. M’s partner were there. They discussed my “case” and the tiny little micromets found in my Sentinel Lymph Node. Specifically, they discussed whether or not I would benefit from Radiation.

From what I understood of my conversation with Dr. Sh is that I am, once again, in a “grey area”. It’s impossible to know if the cancer has spread beyond the SLN because no other lymph nodes were removed. In hindsight, I wish I had asked Dr. C to remove at least 4 or 5 nodes…then I would know if the cancer had travelled to more nodes or not.

However, Dr. Sh did tell me that all MD’s on the board think that rads is something I should seriously consider based on my…get this…young age. I never really thought of 39 as being particularly “young”. They all feel that when I meet with Dr. M on July 6 I will get some more necessary info to help me make this tough decision. Maybe she will have some data…some studies…some percentages…some something that will help me.

Radiation will set back the timeline I have in place for beating this cancer. See….the way I figured it…I would have the BMX, follow that with chemo while getting “the girls” expanded weekly so that once I am done chemo and “expanding” I would be able to ring in the New Year with my new breasts. Now, if I do rads, I won’t be able to change out the expanders for the implants for at least 6 months after rads is complete. So…if rads is say….28 treatments…that will bring me to the end of November….which means I can’t do the change over surgery until about this time next year.

Now, I know this should not be a factor in my decision making process…but put yourself in my shoes for a second and then maybe you can understand why I would like this to be over…sooner….

But on the other hand, once chemo is done I will still have to go to the infusion center every third week for my Herceptin infusions until July of 2013…so really this whole process won’t be over till a year from now anyway. (I will need to have the Herceptin infusions for a full year). And if I really think about it then…once I am done the Herceptin I will start taking a daily oral medication for 5 years…so really, this whole process won’t be over for me till 6 years from now.

And that is based on the assumption that this aggressive HER2+++ cancer really is (or will be) gone from my body. Because if it’s not…oh the places it could go….

So I don’t really know why I struggle with this decision. The answer is quite clear. Because I have invasive and aggressive breast cancer. And I am young. And I have a child. And I want to live for 50 more years.