Weird title, I know, but I finally found out yesterday what stage cancer I have. The original pathology report stated that the tumors found were stage I. Then when things got looked at a little closer, the two tumors were found to be of the same makeup, so the size was the whole area the two tumors occupied, not the size of the individual tumor. So, that would make it Stage II. Then some lymph nodes were found to have cancer in them, so that bumped it up to Stage III. Well, after the chemotherapy was finished, an ultrasound measurement, and eventually the tissue looked at, the latest pathology report came back that the tumors had shrunk in size significantly, so that made the tumor measurement smaller, thus almost making the classification to be Stage II again. So, make of that what you will. The Stage is not really a determining factor in how serious the cancer is, unless of course it is Stage IV, meaning the cancer has metastasized to other organs - that is not good.
I am 11 days post-op and feeling really well. I have been told not to do repetitive actions with my arms, and this typing - even on a laptop- is probably pushing that restriction a bit. I will probably not make this very long. Focus on how much you move your pectoral muscle while typing on a laptop. You think it is all just in the wrist and fingers, but there is a lot of slight movements of the arm to reach half the keys. I was never really in much pain. The tissue that was removed contains the nerves, so those were removed as well. I have numbness in most of my chest and my right upper arm. It is like the feeling you get coming out of Novocaine after dental work. More of discomfort than pain. I have some stretching exercises to do and will have some physical therapy to start in about a month.
Dr. Sri went over the pathology report with me. The cancer cells were not completely demolished with the chemo, but neither were they unaffected. They did shrink, but not disappear. They also found that 3 of the 12 nodes removed were cancerous. Because my cancer was triple positive, they have drugs that attack certain of those types of cancer cells. The "triple" refers to Estrogen, Progesterone and HER-2 (a gene) positive. One of the 4 drugs they had me on for the 6 infusions was Herceptin. That specifically targets the HER-2. Being HER-2 positive itself decreases my chance for survival (if I remember correctly what the nurse said), by 25%, but Herceptin treatment increases my chance by 50%. So although HER-2 is bad, the treatment is very specific and effective. I also read that Herceptin was not approved for general use until a little over a year ago, so I am very fortunate to be treated now. That being said, I will continue on with the Herceptin every 3 weeks for a full year - through August. There are some side effects with it, but not as harsh as the other 3. I have some fatigue and body aches for a few days. We are also discussing some anti-Estrogen treatments to suppress my body making that to starve the cancer of it's preferred fuel.
My limitations are: I can't drive myself, as I would be considered an impaired driver if I were to get in an accident, even if it weren't my fault. So I am staying home (oh, darn) and puttering around. I can't use my arms in any repetitive motions - or for lifting. I can't do laundry (more for the lifting, than the switching of loads), and I probably can't do needle work. I was originally looking forward to doing some cross-stitching, but moving my right arm to pull the thread, isn't a good idea at this point. I am also noticing that I can't really lift my right arm very well anyway. That will improve with time and exercises. I can't do dishes and I am very slow when it comes to making simple meals for myself. I was also looking forward to organizing my digital photos and family history. - maybe in a couple weeks. Doctor Moline says to move my arm as if doing a very slow yoga pose. I'm not too good with that...
Jeff and the girls pretty much take care of everything else. They have done wonderfully well with Saturday chores (I may take my visiting teachers' up on their offer to clean my bathrooms as a good deeper clean is needed every couple weeks when the girls are in charge of that :-). Jeff is an excellent cook and loves to do that, so we are eating probably better than when I am completely in charge of meals. My mother is waiting for her flight right now to go home. She has been here for 2 weeks and has been a huge help. She did all the morning stuff for the girls before school, and took care of me during the day with all that I couldn't do. I am not the most patient patient, and I can be a little snarky when I am not feeling well. But she did all those things for me/us with out complaining and smiled through my curtness. We were both surprised at how much I was able to do from the first, that Mother kept expecting me not to be able to do things, and got upset with me when I did do what might have been too much. But yesterday at my appointment, the doctor said I was healing really well and was right on track for what they expected.
The future that I know about will be physical therapy in about a month and radiation starting almost at the same time. PT will be for my range of motion, but also to help prevent lymphedema which the risk of getting that is higher when you have radiation after lymph node removal.
I guess that is all - I really should rest my arm and do some more of my exercises.
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