After much digging on my part I was finally able to feel the enlarged lymph node that I knew had to be in my right armpit. When I saw my oncologist last Thursday I was able to show her where it was. Turns out it is really deep which is why it has been so difficult to to feel during a physical exam.
Friday was CT scan day. It was the full meal deal, abdominal CT followed by head CT. 2 for 1 is nice since it saves me an iv and yet another dose of the contrast dye. Although, I am hoping that I end up having so many CT scans I eventually start turning purple from the inside out.
With scans done I was told I'd wait about a week for the results.
Bright and early Monday morning, or at least at 9:30, which I think is early for a Monday, a message was left on my phone from my oncologist. She already had my CT results. That was really fast so I couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
When I returned the call I found out it was a good thing.
As expected, there was an enlarged lymph node in my right armpit. No surprise there. The splotch on my skull is shrinking. Yay! There is nothing in my liver. Yay! And everything else remains stable. Yay!
With all these results it was decided that I would continue the current drug regimen of zoladex, letrozole, and herceptin. I am also going to be booked for an ultrasound and biopsy of the lymph node to confirm if it is breast cancer and to see if there has been any change in the estrogen receptor and her-2 status. I am also waiting for a consult with my radiation oncologist as the plan is to use radiation to treat the lymph node.
On Tuesday I met with a breast surgeon. My greatest dream is to have a mastectomy on the right side and a double reconstruction. By doing a double reconstruction I don't have to worry about the problem of one perky boob and one floppy boob as I age. Unfortunately, I doubt I am a candidate for reconstruction since I am currently not stable. Even if reconstruction is off the table I would still like the right side mastectomy done. I have to say that I find the imbalance right now annoying and rather inconvenient.
If I get the second mastectomy and no reconstruction I am going to get a mastectomy bra tattoo. If you haven't seen one before, here is the general idea
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2281345/Photo-breast-cancer-survivors-tattooed-chest-shared-thousands-Facebooks-attempts-ban-it.html.
Hmmmmm.......I have digressed slightly. On Tuesday I saw a breast surgeon. She is very concerned about 2 things. First, the lymph node. She finds it odd that the original tumour was on the left side and now the right lymph nodes are affected and there is currently no sign of any tumour in the right breast. Because of this she really wants the ultrasound and biopsy done as quickly as possible.
Second, I have had a small bump just above my scar at my mastectomy site. The bump is about 1 cm but after it initially showed up, in February???, it shrank a little and doesn't seem to have changed since. There is a slight red tinge to it which is apparently not good. Of course, I have no idea if it has always looked like that. I sometimes think I should reread all my blog entries occasionally, all the details start running together after a while.
Anyway, the surgeon thinks the bump should be biopsied as well so now I am waiting for that appointment as well.
And that is my life right now, endless appointments. At some point I need to find the time to put up my Christmas tree.
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