And the reports come rolling in ...

The final block that fell into place happened a week following the phone call from my family doctor. During our last phone call we set up an appointment because from now on she wanted to touch base with me frequently and keep a close thumb on me. At this appointment a streak of good luck was to happen. First of all, she removed the dressing and checked the wound on the chest, which was now completely scabbed and healing to perfection. She told me that it looked good, so I wouldn’t have to wear the dressing any longer. She told me to go home and get a nice hot shower and get the wound as soapy as I want. Yes! My first shower in weeks!!! She then looked at the incision under the arm, which was covered with steri-strips. These are an alternative to stitches, which tape the two sides of the wound together and let it heal naturally. When the wound has healed, the steri-strips are taken off or eventually fall off. My doctor decided she would take them off. I couldn’t believe what she unveiled. The scar underneath the arm was COMPLETELY healed … no scabs, no blood—nothing. Just a scar. And it was much smaller than I thought it would be-- just under 2 inches. Having the bandages removed gave me the awesome feeling of freedom. I could now wear whatever clothes I wanted (without bandages being revealed) and could shower as frequently as I wanted.

When the dressings were removed, my doctor proceeded to open my file and inform me that each day she had been receiving updates from pathologists. They had done a series of tests and stains and each were sent to different places across Canada to be examined (depending on where various specialists were). As each test result was obtained, it was faxed to the doctor’s office. Here are some of the things I gathered from the reports that were sent thus far:

1) The scar tissue from the first surgery (lumpectomy) was examined and revealed that all cancer had actually been removed during the first surgery. This means that I probably could have gotten away with not having the second surgery at all. However, no one could be sure that they removed it all the first time, and I have no regrets about having the mastectomy anyway.
http://www.breastcancer.org/dia_pict_margins.html

2) The tumor was Estrogen and Progesterone positive (70% and 50% respectively). Let me explain: all cells in the body have receptors which respond to various components in the body that trigger their growth. The cells in the breast have estrogen receptors ... they respond to estrogen, which causes them to divide. In my case, the tumor (cancer cells) had both estrogen and progesterone receptors, which triggered their growth. More simply, this means that more than 70% of the food that fed the tumor and helped it grow big and stong were the female hormones. This actually means a better prognosis ... the hormones and the actions of the hormone receptors can be controlled through medication.]
http://info.cancer.ca/E/CCE/cceexplorer.asp?tocid=10 (*click on Diagnosis, then Diagnostic Tests at a Glance, then Laboratory Tests, then Hormone Receptor Status)
http://www.breastcancer.org/dia_pict_hormone.html

3) The cancer cells were "Well Differentiated." This tells how aggressive the cancer is. The pathologist looks at the cancer cells under a microscope and compares them with normal breast cells, which are also examined under the microscope. If the cancer cells appear and act very similar to normal cells, then they are well-differentiated. This means a slowly growing, less aggressive cancer. If the cancer cells look nothing like the normal cells and behave much differently, then they are called "poorly differentiated." This means a more quickly growing and aggressive cancer. Cells that look somewhere in between normal and completely abnormal are called "moderately differentiated." This means the cells are somewhere in between the above. This was EXCELLENT news. This means that I had a slowly growing cancer that was not overly aggressive.
http://info.cancer.ca/E/CCE/cceexplorer.asp?tocid=10 (*click on Pathology & Staging, then Tumor Grading)
http://www.breastcancer.org/dia_pict_rate.html

4) The pathologists did a number of stains on the lymph nodes that were extracted (the 2 sentinal nodes from under the arm and the 10 axillary nodes that were in the breast). From the many stains and tests they did and after rambling on with a bunch of medical jargon, the report read: "We are, thus, ruling out any chance of metastesis." Metastesis= spread to distant areas in the body.
http://www.breastcancer.org/dia_pict_sizeshape.html

All of this was amazing news. A rush of excitement filled my body. I felt on top of the world. The only thing that I needed to know now was whether or not the tumor was Her2 positive. This tells whether the tumor overexpressed a certain gene and can tell a great deal about a person's prognosis.

The doctor looked at me and said: "I'm not sure what this means for your treatment. This is all excellent news, but I have a feeling you will still be treated with chemotherapy because of your young age. We'll have to wait and see."