Lesson Learned

You'd think at my age I'd have learned to not assume things until I have all the information.  Apparently not.

Like that statement I made in the previous post about if my mom's lymph nodes were found to be clear in her surgery tomorrow she would only need radiation?  Yeah, I'm choking on those words, unfortunately.

My mom, Beth(who was in town for the long weekend), and I met with the oncologist yesterday.  Once again, very good choice of a doctor, and I know I feel quite confident in his abilities.

He took a thorough history, then started talking about my mom's cancer and the proposed care plan.

That's when we found out the result of the last test we were waiting for on the initial biopsy, which was the Her2/neu test.  It was positive.  Not what we expected.  Her2/neu is another type of hormone that stimulates cell growth, and causes the cancer cells to be more aggressive than if it wasn't present.

Good news is there is a drug called Herceptin that blocks the growth receptors on the cancer cells to prevent the aggressive growth.  Not so good news is that if you are Her2 positive, you automatically get chemotherapy along with Herceptin, whether or not your lymph nodes are positive.

We were surprised at the news.  We had, I suppose, unknowingly planned on not hearing about a need for chemo until after surgery.

Surgery is still planned for tomorrow.  Still planned is a lumpectomy w/sentinel node biopsy, along with a port placement now.  The "port" will give IV access for as long as it is in, and will make blood draws and the chemo infusions much easier.

We do not have a start date for chemotherapy as yet, that will come when we meet with the oncologist again, in about 3 weeks.  We do know that she will have 6 chemo treatments, 3 weeks apart.  The Herceptin will then continue every 3 weeks for a year. She will also take an estrogen blocking drug for the next five years, and sometime after the initial 6 chemo treatments, she will begin radiation.

My mom is remaining positive, although is understandably worried about having to go through chemo.  She can certainly think of a thousand other things she'd rather be doing!

We are remaining hopeful, and leaning on the power of prayer at this time.  As our wonderful family friend Rich proclaims, "Faith, Hope, Deliverance!"

**I will update tomorrow as I can, here on my blog, and on facebook, as to her condition following surgery.  Again, especially tomorrow, your faith and prayers are appreciated.  They are felt, and are bringing a calmness to our family.  Thank you!**