Monday, January 7, 2013

The Facts


 The Facts

I guess this cancer thing is not a mistake.  It’s really real.  The type of breast cancer that I have is pretty standard.  Other than my young age, it’s not an unusual diagnosis (as far as breast cancer is concerned.)  The type of cancer I have is invasive ductal carcinoma.  The cancer grade of both tumors is 2, meaning the cancer cells grow faster than normal cells, but it is not the fastest growing.  My cancer is ER+ (estrogen receptor positive) and PR+ (progesterone receptor positive).  100% of my cancer cells have receptors!  My cancer is HER2 low.  I will be getting the pretty standard treatment and agreed to be part of a clinical trial.  I will be going through 20 weeks of chemotherapy, 8 weeks of one drug combination and then 12 weeks of another.  Then I will have 5 ½ weeks of radiation and will be on a hormonal therapy drug for at least 5 years after. 

This stuff better work!  I was surprised when talking with the oncologists about survival/mortality rates (he brought it up, not me…I wasn’t even going there) that the statistics were not better (and by better, I mean the survival rates being 100%).  The data looks 10 years out.  10 years?  10 years!  I will only be in my early 40’s!  My kids will be young teenagers.  This sucks.

Looking on the Bright Side…of all the expenses my husband and I thought we would be making this year (new water heater, windows, carpet, etc.) we did not see “new boobs” making the list.  At least it’s something I can kind of show off.  No one wants to see our new water heater, but my new breasts…maybe?

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