and the "meh" news is that I probably will need radiation in both breasts-we'll know more after we see Dr Mittleman, my new medical oncologist, on Friday.
I just had to outdo my sister, who "only" had radiation in one breast.
All kidding aside, I'm sporting not one, not two but three types of cancer: in the left breast, LCIS (lobular carcinoma in situ) and DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ). Both are considered Stage 0 but having both together suggests that something needs to be done.
I'm willing to bet (any takers?) that the DCIS has been sitting there for the last 20 years--I had DCIS in that breast 20 years ago. Doctors know that not every case of DCIS becomes invasive, they just don't have a good way to tell which DCIS will become invasive.
And lobular cancer can be very nasty-you don't want that to grow at all.
In the right breast, I have invasive ductal carcinoma with a size of 1.8 centimeters. The cutoff is anything great than 2 centimeters, along with a few other indicators that aren't worth going into and you're at stage IB. You can learn more about stages here but suffice it to say that with no lymph node involvement (and Dr Cahan only took one sentinel node, which is better than taking two) and a small tumor I'm at stage IA.
As Liz Gilbert says, "onward!"
I just had to outdo my sister, who "only" had radiation in one breast.
All kidding aside, I'm sporting not one, not two but three types of cancer: in the left breast, LCIS (lobular carcinoma in situ) and DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ). Both are considered Stage 0 but having both together suggests that something needs to be done.
I'm willing to bet (any takers?) that the DCIS has been sitting there for the last 20 years--I had DCIS in that breast 20 years ago. Doctors know that not every case of DCIS becomes invasive, they just don't have a good way to tell which DCIS will become invasive.
And lobular cancer can be very nasty-you don't want that to grow at all.
In the right breast, I have invasive ductal carcinoma with a size of 1.8 centimeters. The cutoff is anything great than 2 centimeters, along with a few other indicators that aren't worth going into and you're at stage IB. You can learn more about stages here but suffice it to say that with no lymph node involvement (and Dr Cahan only took one sentinel node, which is better than taking two) and a small tumor I'm at stage IA.
As Liz Gilbert says, "onward!"
Connie, you are quite the overachiever! ;)
ReplyDeleteI continue to send you good thoughts and white light. xo, Sarah
Thanks so much, and thanks for reading!
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