My Science Lesson

Once you have a diagnosis, like cancer, you find that you need to learn a new language, a new culture and, most of all, become a junior scientist.  The first appointment with my cancer surgeon was like a visit to cancer school. 

I really like my surgeon and the care system at Swedish hospital.  I was taken by her our very first meeting - she was warm, calm and reassuring.  One of the first things she did was hand me a binder full of information about all that lies ahead - the process, procedures, support resources, and more.  Then she handed me my pathology report and my science lesson began.  With compassion and grace she explained to me what they know about my cancer.  Here is what I have:

• Infiltrating ductal carcinoma approximately 2cm (caught early)
• High grade and high mitotic rate (this is bad, fast growing means it can spread aggressively)
• ER and PR positive (this is good, it means it will respond to hormonal therapy)
• HER2 negative (some therapy won't work, but lower risk of recurrence)
• Ki-67 high proliferation (high risk of recurrence)

So, what does this all mean? 

I am very lucky this was caught early.  It happened to be in an area my previous doctor was watching because I had a cyst nearby.  When I went in for a follow-up appointment to check on the cyst, they noted that the cyst was gone but nearby was some suspicious tissue.  The tissue had not shown up on a mammogram, but it turned out to be cancerous when they biopsied it.

The bad news is that this is an aggressive cancer, with somewhat high risk for recurrence.  This means that even though I have opted for a mastectomy, I cannot avoid chemotherapy.  I also will likely be on a hormone therapy, like tamoxifen, for several years after I complete chemotherapy.  I won't know the duration or type of chemotherapy I face, until we know if the cancer has spread to my lymph nodes. 

So, now I can speak cancer and I am on my way to being a junior cancer scientist.