Had the second opinion clinic today. The service they provide and the people there were absolutely fantastic. I was so impressed with everyone.
As for the results, this group said the bilateral mastectomy is "not unreasonable." They seemed to be leaning more toward the lumpectomy with radiation and tamoxifin (a pill often used to reduce occurence of breast cancer in high risk women), though. They thought the mastectomy with reconstruction is quite an ordeal and may not be worth it, but only I can decide what is best for me. They thought it was more about aesthetics, body image, and whether I could deal with the worry of recurrance. Would I feel more secure having my breasts gone? I don't know.
Good news: The MRI showed nothing at all. No invasive cancer in either breast. I wondered aloud if the biopsy actually got all the invasive cancer out and the doctor seemed to think that was a possibility, though the only way to know is surgery and then checking the margins. Evidently, the LCIS is still there, but not viewable on the MRI.
More good news: They called this level 1 cancer, meaning the cells don't look that different than regular breast cells.
Even more good news: This group agreed that it was caught really early and I am very low risk for the cancer to move elsewhere in my body.
I guess the tough thing is that I'm now very confused again. I'm not sure what to do. Chance of survival is the same with both surgeries (very, very high). Chance of recurrence according to the second opinion group today was about the same with either surgery (lump or mastectomy). What I heard from my doctor is that the chance of recurrence is higher with lumpectomy.
I'm totally fried now. Major headache. Tired. Even a bit sick to my stomach. Will probably take a nap, if I can. My daughter has lots of homework though. I should try to be available to help with that, although my mom is around too. My dad will probably take my son to baseball.
Ken is still out of town at a conference. Yesterday he and his boss got an award and had a great presentation of their analytics product. It was fun to hear him so jazzed about it. I'm glad he's getting a little time away from all this icky stuff here. Icky is of course the medical term to describe the physical and psychological aspects of dealing with cancer.
It's gorgeous outside. I should be running. I wonder if I'd feel better by doing so or if it would wipe me out further and wear down my resistance to illness. So many unknowns. I don't even know what's for dinner. Not Mexican, though. Stomach is too iffy for that.
I hope the right decision will come to you and you'll be at peace with it. From my experience, I thought the chance of survival was the same for lumpectomy vs. mastectomy, but the chance of recurrence was much lower for mastectomy. I second guess my choice sometimes, but not looking back. with LCIS (for me) there is no lump, so seems either mastectomy or wait for cancer. LCIS in itself is not that much of a concern, but coupled with strong family history (in my case) and the sheer concentration of the LCIS helped push my decision. Good luck! Hope you're feeling better.
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