Pathology Results

Hello,

Nicole spoke to the surgeon a few minutes ago, the news was mixed. The good news first of course: the lymph nodes were still clear.

The bad news is the tumor was slightly bigger than they originally thought, and it means Nicole is headed back for more surgery to ensure the margins around the tumor are definitely clear. The process of removing more tissue after the initial surgery isn't necessarily abnormal, but of course it's not the result we were hoping for.

We'll be meeting with the oncologist next week to discuss the treatment, and based on the results to date, find out whether he recommends chemo or not. We have our fingers crossed.

Nic is recovering well from the first surgery. She's still sore and can't do much with her right arm, but otherwise is normal. She thanks everyone for the cards, flowers, food, and positive reinforcement!

Surgery!

Hey all,

We're home! Nicole is napping with a few ice packs and some grogginess. The results: 1 cubic centimeter of tumor (as the surgeon said, a 'marble') removed and 3 lymph nodes with NO SIGN of cancer.

Of course there is still a chance extensive pathology will show something worse, but for right now we're going to celebrate the news and enjoy the moment. We will see the surgeon in a week for a follow-up appointment and he'll be able to say definitively whether the lymph nodes were clear. After that, a few weeks of healing then her treatment will begin.

I think Nicole's parents and I are going to join Nicole in a nap very soon, but thank you all so much for all the encouragement, positive thoughts, and prayers.

Surgery Date

Sorry I haven't updated in a few days, but frankly there hasn't been any news to post. We do have an official surgery date of 6/16 (hard to believe it's only been a month).

Nicole will be having a lumpectomy with sentinel node biopsy. That means they'll take the tumor and some surrounding tissue. While they have her under anesthesia, they also take the first few lymph nodes in the chain and test them right in the OR. If the first few lymph nodes show cancer, they will remove up to a dozen more lymph nodes, as that's the typical process the cancer would take to spread.

The surgery is somewhat routine in the grand scheme of things, Nicole won't have to spend the night in the hospital and should be home by evening. Of course we're hopeful the lymph nodes are clean, but even if they're not we're going to be anxious to get this fight going soon after. Typically they will give her 3-4 weeks to heal, and then the treatment (chemo/radiation) begins.

Thank you all for the constant support and well wishes!

Benign!

Happy 4th!

Got a piece of good news to share for the holiday. The other biopsy came back benign! Though it doesn't change much for the treatment plans, we'll take all the benign we can get right now!

Slowly....

This process is painfully slow...

Nicole had her ultrasound biopsy on Tuesday. Originally they saw 3 'spots' on the MRI that concerned them, and the ultrasound was only able to find 1 of them. They did a biopsy on that spot and we're once again waiting for results.

Even if that spot is positive for cancer, it was a quarter-inch or smaller, and the other 2 didn't even show up. That lack of news at least tells us that the cancer is still very small and local, and that's just reemphasizing that it's very effectively treated.

We also saw the fertility docs on Tuesday and began lining up our soldiers to increase the odds at having kids someday. Who knew putting a few eggs on ice could be so expensive?!??! Learning something new everyday through this process, that's for sure.

Nicole also met with the Oncologist for the first time today, the guy who will run the treatment once Nicole is through with surgery. Again (broken record), we learned nothing new from him, he said that he won't be able to put a treatment plan on paper until he sees the final results from surgery. He did give some encouraging words about being able to have kids after cancer, and didn't seem at all concerned that Nicole would have a problem due to the treatments. Of course we know there are many factors at work, but it feels good to know the docs feel it's very possible.

I wish I had more to report, but unfortunately we are stuck solidly in the waiting game right now. Stay tuned...