Sunday, November 8, 2009

FAQ Additional Information

As soon as I hit "publish" last time I realized there were several unanswered questions. So here are some details for the medically minded:
Specifics
  • Type of biopsy--core with needle aspiration under guided ultrasound done in the surgeon's office...kind of a cool tool that looks similar to a meat thermometer and has a tiny needle that comes out at the end then shoots CO2 to freeze the tissue before it grabs a piece. The doctor used a local anesthetic so it was pain free.
  • Cancer type--biopsy showed ductal and lobular mix. The doctor said if there is any ductal involvement it is called such. It is grade 1 which means a less aggressive form (this is good.)
  • Tumor size--xray called it 1.5cm. Doctor said about the size of a quarter while the MRI report said it was 3.3 cm. The actual measurement comes from pathology after the tumor has been removed and was 2.1 cm.
  • Staging--This is whether the tumor has spread beyond it's initial borders. The doctor ordered the MRI pre-surgery as part of this work up. the MRI was normal. Staging is done from results of the sentinel lymph node check and the additional pathology tests following surgery.
  • Initial Post-Op results--There was one positive lymph node out of five tested. Both the surgeon and radiation oncologist feel it will be best to remove all the lymph glands in the area (surgery is scheduled for 11/23).
  • Surgery--As I wrote earlier, the first surgery was without complications. The hospital staff were excellent and caring. Their compassion helped everything go well. Post Op I was surprised at how long it took for my body to really wake up. For some reason I figured if I was only out for 3 hours I should be well awake in 3 hours...not so.

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