Dr. Goldberg called me this afternoon. I was not expecting that at all. They weren't supposed to call until tomorrow so he caught me off guard a bit. Unfortunately, he had bad news. In the tissues they biopsied they found two kinds of breast cancer.
The first is Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC) and the other is Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Both require treatment.
I handled his call pretty well. Maybe a bit of disbelief? I'm not aware of any breast cancer history in my family so not sure how to feel at this point.
Then Diane called. She's a nurse that helps set up all the appointments and answers questions. She said the next step is to meet with a team of doctors- a surgeon, a radiologist and a chemo- doctor to decide how best to handle my case.
She discussed a bit about the difference between a lumpectomy and mastectomy. She also explained a little bit about radiation therapy and Chemo. She said that Dr. Bouton, the Surgeon, could see me Thursday but that's Liberty's birthday so I think we'll try and schedule it for next Tuesday.
I tried calling Brett but he's not available. Dang! I won't say that tears haven't escaped because they have but I'm trying not to freak out until we meet with everyone first.
It's just that what is supposed to go through your mind when you hear yourself say, "I have breast cancer"?
UPDATE: The phone kept ringing. Diane called back. I have appointment at the Roger Maris Cancer Center with Dr. Amit Panwalker, the Medical Oncologist at 10:30 next Tuesday and then at the Breast Clinic with Dr. Bouton, the Breast Surgeon at 1:30. Also, Dr. Card called to check on me. She said she heard that I've had a crazy day. Then she said, "I'm so sorry." That got me a little emotional. She said that the Cancer team will be handling everything dealing with the cancer but that I can call her with other concerns if I need to. She even told me that if she was here, she'd give me a big hug. Very nice of her. She did say that she thinks I need about 6 months of treatment before I could think of leaving the country. That doesn't really fit in the July departure date range. So- let's just say- I am NOT very happy with my boob right now! We'll see what all the doctors say though, right? I just want to enjoy Liberty's birthday, our fun Easter weekend and then deal with all of this next week. Wowzers! I need a nap! LOL
No comments:
Post a Comment