The oncologist was very nice.  She asked a lot of questions about my past history.  The oncologist said I would need to take tamoxifen and have to undergo 6 weeks, every day of radiation, if I chose the lumpectomy route.   The radiation and lumpectomies could deform my breasts.  It all depends how much tissue needs to be taken out or destroyed.  If I choose the mastectomy route, no chemo, no radiation, and no tamoxifen because all the breast tissue will be gone and if no invasion, no need for anything to be done after mastectomy.  The visit did not last very long.  I was exhausted when the oncologist visit was finished.  My brain was on overload.

When I went home,  I immediately called the genetic testing center.  They were sending me in the mail a packet of information with pages of questions to answer.  Then I am scheduled for a consult to go over information and to figure out which genetic testing needs to be done.

Next step is to schedule plastic surgeon visit.

Ray and I arrived to the hospital to meet the breast surgeon.  I couldn’t eat a thing this morning.  I was a nervous wreck and still shocked I have breast cancer in BOTH breasts.  While waiting in the waiting room, my name was called and a very nice  MA walked us back to the examining room.  The MA went over my medications and took my vitals.  Then she stated she read in my report about how I was told of my diagnosis, and said what an awful way to be told of my results.  She then gave me a hug and said I will be okay and then she left the room.  It didn’t take long and the breast surgeon came into the room.   My breast surgeon introduced herself and decided to go over my results.

My right breast was DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ) and it was intermediate grade, cribriform, no mass, and considered stage 0.  It was fed by 33% estrogen and 3% progesterone.

My left breast was DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ) with microinvasion and was high-grade, no mass, comedo (consists of cells that seem cytologically malignant, with the presence of high-grade nuclei, pleomorphism, and abundant central luminal necrosis. Comedo-type DCIS appears to be more aggressive, with a higher probability of associated invasive ductal carcinoma) and was considered not really a stage 1, but more a stage 0.3-0.5.  It was 95% estrogen fed and 75% progesterone fed.

The cancer I have, was fortunately caught early.

My breast surgeon was really nice and stated I had options.  I could have lumpectomies in both breasts with radiation every day for 6 weeks after the lumpectomy surgery.  Then I would have to undergo double breast MRIs once a year for the rest of my life,  breast mammograms every 6 months for the rest of my life, and take Tamoxifen for the rest of my life.   I already had seen a breast surgeon 6 years ago who had me try taking Primrose to help reduce breast cysts.  The Primrose ended up making me have a period for 3 months in a row and massive nonstop headaches, and I started developing uterine cysts.  I was told to immediately get off the Primrose from my primary doctor who stated I should never ever take any type of alternating hormonal medication as my body does not like any hormone changes.  As I was listening to my breast surgeon, there was no way I was wanting to take the Tamoxifen (which there is a slight increase of causing uterine cancer).   The other option the breast surgeon stated was having mastectomies and highly recommended immediate reconstruction.  If I go this route, no chemo or radiation, no tamoxifen, no more breast MRIs and no more mammograms, AND no tamoxifen.  I would basically be 100% cancer free.  I could also have a mastectomy on my left and have lumpectomy on my right.  It was up to me to decide.

I was sitting in the chair thinking, if my cancer was caught early, why all the drastic measures to take?  Why can’t I just have a lumpectomy and be done with it all.  Why radiation?  Why is there an option for a mastectomy?

I kept looking over at Ray to see facial expressions and what he might be thinking.  There was a knock on the door and the surgeon had to leave to take a call.  Ray said to me, mastectomy might be the option to take so I would not have to be on the tamoxifen and have the peace of mind of not having cancer come back.  Ray said, “I want you healthy and to live and stay in my life so we can grow old together!”

The surgeon came back into the room and I asked her, “Why cancer in BOTH breasts!”  Her response was either I have the worst, stupidest bad luck or it is genetics.  The surgeon wanted me to have genetic testing done.  She did not believe it was BRCA, but believed it was some form of genetics in my family.

I told the breast surgeon that I was leaning toward a mastectomy on my left since it was comedo with microinvasion and maybe a lumpectomy on my right, but not sure yet.  The breast surgeon stated the next step she wanted me to take was to have a double breast MRI with and without contrast performed.  The MRI would show up any hot spots of new cancer cells or areas that may have been missed on the mammogram.  Also, right after my office visit with the breast surgeon, I was to head to the radiology department to undergo a chest x-ray, just to make sure nothing shows up.

The office visit was over and a lot of info was given to me in one sitting and in a few hours, we meet the oncologist and more info will be given about what to do with my breast cancer.  I really liked this breast surgeon.  She was very caring and informative.

Ray and I walked out of the examining room and headed to the radiology department.   I was taken to a room to have the chest x-ray.  The x-ray was done quickly.  I was told the results would be within a few hours and I would be getting a call from the breast surgeon’s office about the results.

Ray and I left the hospital and headed to a restaurant to try and get some food in me for the next visit to the oncologist.   I started thinking about the chest x-ray and what if there were signs of cancer?   Within the hour, the breast surgeon’s office called me and told me my chest x-ray results looked normal.  WHAT A RELIEF!