Dear Friends and Family,So I'm sure many of you are wondering how someone my age with no family history of breast cancer ends up with this diagnosis. I've been wondering the same thing, but fortunately the prognosis is good and we are now focused on the treatment and recovery.
Because so many of you are in the medical arena I will probably give details than necessary but you can skip around at your leisure.
This all began a few months ago when I noticed a lump in my left breast. I was still breastfeeding Jasmine so I just thought it was a clogged milk duct and initially ignored it. After a few months of no change in size, I went to my OB/Gyn to get an annual exam and have her evaluate it. She referred me to a breast surgeon who did an ultrasound in the office which showed about a 3cm mass with some calicifications. She then scheduled me for a mammogram and a more thorough ultrasound in radiology. My mammogram was pretty concerning with an area of 8cm x 5cm 4cm of calcifications plus some calcifications in the axilla. The other ultrasound showed a 3cm mass in the lower quadrant, 1cm area in the upper quadrant and no abnormalities in the lymph nodes. I had a breast biopsy in the office that same day and found out the following day that the pathology showed invasive ductal carcinoma of intermediate grade plus some areas of ductal carcinoma in situ. Needless to say we were shocked to hear the diagnosis. The following day I had a CT-PET scan which only showed the 3cm mass lighting up (suggesting cancer) and no activity anywhere else in the body (no lymph nodes or metastasis). So that was good news. All the tests were intermingled with lots of long talks with doctors, family, and friends to come up with the treatment plan. So the plan right now is chemo first (Adriamycin and Cytoxan for 4 doses every 2 weeks followed by Taxol every week x 12), then surgery (not sure yet exactly what type), and then radiation for 6 weeks. So thanks to everyone that listened and/or offered advice during that time.
