I received my biopsy results yesterday, and they were positive for cancer. My oncologist’s office called me in the morning and scheduled an appointment right away for today to discuss our next steps.
I was hoping that my oncologist could tell me what type of cancer I have today, but we do not have those results back yet, so I will hopefully know in a few more days. There are a couple of possibilities as far as my treatment goes, but I won’t have a definite plan until scans are done, and the results are back.
On Monday, I will be going to the hospital for a bone scan-nuclear medicine, CT neck with contrast, and CT C/A/P with contrast {ct scan of chest, abdomen, and pelvis.} If there is cancer anywhere besides my neck, we will know for sure once the scans are completed and analyzed.
On Friday next week, I will meet with my oncologist to review the scan results and my treatment plan. I do know that I will most likely have radiation therapy on my neck; anything beyond that will be determined during my appointment.
So here we are again, another biopsy, just shy of a few weeks from three years ago when my surgeon did my first biopsy and diagnosed me with breast cancer.
This time I was only in pain when my surgeon gave me the shot of lidocaine. He kept asking me if I was OK because the needle was in for a little bit as he moved it around at different angles to numb the area around the mass. I was facing away from him so he couldn’t see my face for a reaction, so I appreciated him asking me how I was doing multiple times, as it was just another example of what a kind and caring doctor he is.
I had to lay on my right side so he could easily get to the mass because it was at an odd angle on my neck. Since I was lying on my side, I was able to watch the ultrasound monitor and see him put each needle in the mass, collect a sample, then pull the needle back out. As he put each sample into a small container with a tiny amount of saline, his assistant closed each container; there were three in total. He said that the mass is about 1 centimeter, so I hopefully caught it early enough.
All in all, everything went fine. I should have the results back at the latest on Tuesday. I couldn’t help but notice that my surgeon told me that he was taking the samples over to the lab personally, right away. Yes, that did concern me a little, his urgency, and that only made my gut feeling about all of this feel more valid. He also told me that he spoke with my oncologist and that if my results are positive, my oncologist will order the PET scan asap.
Minor bruising today, along with a small hematoma. I am very, very sore, but you would be too if you had four needles poked in you!
My gut feeling is based on these events, are they coincidences? This mass is very much like the first one three years ago in many ways. It feels the same and looks the same on the ultrasound, and there is something else, each time I have had pain in another part of my body before finding a mass. I first had pain in my neck, shoulder, and shoulder blade a few weeks before finding my tumor. I thought I had slept funny, but as the days went by, the pain did not go away. This time, around Thanksgiving, I had terrible pain on the outside of my ear, going up the side of my head to the top of my head. As I said in a previous post, my oncologist ordered an MRI of my head, but it was clear, so we had no explanation for my pain. I was in agony until about two weeks ago when the pain suddenly stopped, and I now have found another mass.
I will update as soon as I have the results…prayers! 💕
A few days ago, on Tuesday, I found a lump on the left side of my neck at the base right where my neck curves into my shoulder; the same side of my body where my breast cancer was, and the same side where I had all of the terrible pain in my head. I was reading through my emails, playing with my necklace as I often do, and my fingers felt something odd. I took off my necklace to investigate further, and it felt exactly like the tumor I found in my breast a little over three years ago, as this one is a small round bump with a lump next to it.
It should be no surprise that I went into full panic mode. I thought about what to do next and called my husband. I told him about what I found and that I thought about calling my oncologist, but I knew he would want imaging done. I then remembered that my surgeon has a mobile ultrasound machine at his office, so it made sense to see him first and have him do an ultrasound. My husband agreed with my decision, so I called my surgeon’s office to see if I could get an appointment the following day, yesterday, which is an office day for him to see patients. Luckily, I was able to get an afternoon appointment to see him and have the ultrasound done.
During my appointment, he first took a look with the ultrasound at the lump I described to him, then he looked at the lymph nodes under my left arm. He couldn’t find anything unusual under my arm, and he said that he was not sure what the lump was on my neck, other than a mass. He asked me if I had contacted my oncologist yet, and I explained that I hadn’t called him because I knew he would want imaging, so I wanted to see him, my surgeon, first for the ultrasound. Then he asked if I wanted to do a PET scan or a biopsy first as we need to find out what we are dealing with this time. I asked his opinion and told him that I trust his judgment, which I do without question, and we agreed that a biopsy should be done first, and then if it comes back positive, we will do a PET scan to see if I have any other tumors in my body. So early in the morning on Friday, I will go back to his office, and he will do a needle biopsy. He gave me the option of being asleep during the biopsy or using the needle with a local, and I chose the needle because I didn’t see the need to be put to sleep for a biopsy after having five surgeries in twenty-two months.
Quite honestly, I am scared. I would go into more about my fear, but it touches on what I am not ready to share yet. The only comfort I have right now is that I already know the possible next steps, no surprises this time, which of course is both good and bad.
I will update as soon as I have my biopsy results which should be some time between late Friday and Monday.
I am sorry that I have been away from here for over five months. I have been dealing with some complicated things, and it has been challenging for me to come here and write about them. This is where I can release my thoughts with the hope of feeling better, but I haven’t been able to do that until now. Even now, I might not share everything with you because I feel like I can’t. I know I said that I would always be very open with my readers when I started this blog, but some things have happened that I am not comfortable with sharing just yet, and I may never be. With all of that said, here is a quick recap of my appointment with my surgeon in September and my oncologist in December of 2021.
In September, I had my annual mammogram and ultrasound followed by an appointment with my surgeon to find out the imaging results and have my yearly checkup. My imaging was clear, and my exam went well. My scars are fading; everything has healed beautifully and looks as it should, so that was excellent news! I have noticed that many women I know who have gone through breast cancer have a mammogram and ultrasound every six months, where I have them every 12 months, so I asked my surgeon about it. He said that it is unnecessary to have them more often than 12 months unless I notice an issue. As usual, my surgeon answered my questions and put my mind at ease, reminding me that I have the best doctor for me and my needs.
My appointment with my oncologist in December was both good and frustrating. Around Thanksgiving, I started having pain on the left side of my head, and at times it hurt so bad that I had to take some of the oxycodone that I had leftover from my surgeries and chemo. The pain went from just outside of my ear, up the side of my head, and over to the top of my head. My oncologist wasn’t overly concerned about me having a tumor in my brain but to be sure, I had an MRI just before Christmas. My MRI came back clear, so that was frustrating only because I had no explanation for the pain and discomfort I was in 24/7 by that time. So the pain continued until suddenly, one day in mid-January, I realized that the pain was gone, and it has not come back since. I still have no idea of what was causing me so much pain, but I am so happy that it is gone. The good parts about my appointment are that my blood panels came back normal for the first time since I started chemo in May 2019. Even more good news is that on October 3rd, the day of my final chemo treatment in 2019, I reached my first significant milestone; I made it to my second anniversary of being cancer-free! I am incredibly grateful that I have made it through the first two years, and I am hopeful that I will continue to stay healthy and cancer-free until my next milestone in another three years, at five years.
If you know me on Facebook, you know what has happened in the past two days; if you don’t, please read my next post which will be posted later tonight, where I explain what is happening with me now.
Hi, I can’t believe that we are already in July and that it has been over three months since I published a post here! In my defense, I can tell you that I have had a lot going on since the middle of April.
In early May, I started looking for a house to move to because with the housing market going crazy, I was sure that the owner of the house we had been renting for the last six years would want to sell. About a week later, my suspicions were confirmed by a phone call from the owner. Finding a house was challenging because the home would be listed online, and not even 24 hours later, there were multiple applications on it. Right before we were due to leave on vacation, we went to see a house, and it was perfect! At first, we didn’t know if we had gotten it, but right before we flew out of town, we received the news that we had been approved and would get the keys on June 1st after we returned from vacation. So, my time was filled with stress from looking for a house and then getting ready to go on vacation, but it was worth it because we have moved into a house that is perfect for us and our vacation was wonderful!
While on vacation, we renewed our wedding vows on our 17th anniversary, and everything was perfect on our special day! Ocho Rios, Jamaica, is one of our favorite places to relax and reconnect with each other, so why not renew our vows while there. We were supposed to renew our vows two years ago, but between my breast cancer diagnosis and treatment in 2019 and Covid causing the world to stop in 2020, we had to post phone our trip and ceremony until this year.
I will update you with everything that has been going on over a few different posts in the coming days, which will include a huge milestone, a follow-up appointment with my surgeon, and how I am doing these days.
Today I had my three-month follow-up appointment with my oncologist. As usual, we spoke about how I am doing on Anastrozole. I am continuing to do well with no major side effects. I still have eight years and ten months to go, but all should continue to go well as time passes by.
He also wanted an update on how I am doing since my last surgery, which was a month ago today. I told him that I am very happy with my results and that I have healed well with very little pain. He said that he finds that surgeons often don’t prepare their patients concerning the pain they will experience after surgery and how long it can go on. I agreed that realistic expectations aren’t discussed, and for me, that was hard because in April 2019, when my cancer was removed was the first surgery I have ever had in my life. Yes, I knew there would be a pain, but I would have never guessed at just how long after surgery I would still have pain here and there.
My blood work was done today as well, and my red blood cell count is still a little low. We are thinking that moving forward; my count will be a little low; it’s where my system has settled after everything I have gone through, and I am OK with that as long as I continue to stay healthy.
I am just about to reach my second significant milestone with my oncologist. I will have one more follow-up appointment in three months, and then I am graduating to the six-month plan, which signifies my being two years out from when I started chemotherapy with no recurrence. Over the next three years, I will see him every six months until I get to the five-year goal of being cancer-free. He was happy to tell me that I am still cancer-free and doing well! I am beyond grateful and happy! 🙂 💕
