Since I've been diagnosed, it's been nothing but doctor appointments with tests, tests, more tests and much discussion. We've met with many doctor's and we decided to go with Mass General via Southern New Hampshire Medical Center. Mass General has a satellite location right here in Nashua, NH which makes treatment local and if I need to go to Boston, it's right there with all my doctors being Mass General Dr's - we're very happy with our decision. Dr. Marcia Browne will be my Medical Oncologist and Dr. Suzanne Coopey will be my Breast Surgeon. Scott and I felt really comfortable with then from an educational, medical & experience perspective. They were both extremely thorough, caring and basically knew their stuff! I liked them and their expertise a lot! They are my lifeline to beating this hell of a thing called breast cancer.
Beyond the mammograms, ultrasounds, biopsies, I've had to do a number of blood tests, genetic testing to find out if I am a carrier of certain cancer genes & a breast MRI. Because of the lymphatic invasion within the breast, they wanted me to also move forward with a Chest CT, Abdominal CT & a Bone Scan to determine if there has been any spreading to other areas. During the abdominal & chest CT's I ended up having an allergic reaction to the contrast dye - my tongue and back of my throat swelled up very quickly - it was bad. I was rushed to the ER, spent 3 hours there on New Year's Eve. Add that to the list - yeahi me!
My results came back negative with the abdominal & bone scans, but there was some indication of lymph node growth. I almost fell to my knees when I heard. I felt like we were back to square one. I was on hold until further review. My medical team meets on Tuesday's to review all the new Cancer Cases at Mass General with their Cancer / Tumor Teams. After review today, I got a call from Dr. Browne. She said that after review of the scans, they felt that there was no evidence of any suspicious lymph node tumors. THANK GOD! If there was, I would have to do a sentinel node biopsy upfront which would delay me starting treatment. I'd rather be safe than sorry, but beyond happy that we can move forward. Who would have thought I'd be looking forward to chemo?
The ups and downs of this road are insane. One minute I want to throw up, then next you are happy that there was some good news despite the reality of what I'm facing. It's an emotional roller coaster to an extreme. I'm buckling up my belt, as this road has proven to be beyond bumpy to say the least. I better hold on tight, really tight as the ride is just beginning!
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