Plan of Action

My first appointment with the breast surgeon at the Saul & Joyce Brandman Breast Center at Cedars-Sinai.  I brought my sister along for support.  And it was a good thing, the information started flowing and my head started spinning.  My sister was able to listen and ask some questions along the way.  I was pretty useless in that department.  I'm not sure I heard half of what the doctor had to say.  A treatment plan was being formulated as we spoke.

After a quick exam, we reviewed my records and looked at the mammogram films.  She told me my cancer was at least a stage II, further testing after surgery will determine exactly what stage it really is.  She then took out a tape measure and showed me how 9cm looks, basically it's a lot when you hold it up to your breast.  My two options were either a lumpectomy or a mastectomy.  With the lumpectomy comes six weeks of radiation, mandatory.  With the mastectomy, radiation or chemotherapy would be determined after they take out the tumor and surrounding calcified tissue, plus do a sentinel lymph node biopsy.  If everything is clean, I wouldn't need either.  I will have to take tamoxifen for five years because my cancer is hormone based.  If I go with the mastectomy I can do breast reconstruction or a breast prostheses, neither of which sound appealing.

Since the size of the area that needs to come out, the first decision (albeit, a sucky one) was easy.  I will go with the mastectomy.  Having told the oncologist this, she then set up a referral for a plastic surgeon to discuss my options.  Appointments for pre-op testing were made for Monday.

And so it begins.  This is really happening.