Hi,
Another week... where does the time go? ; ) I've had a couple of long walks in the nice weather at Ridley Creek. I am reading Lance Armstrong's book "It's Not About the Bike" and learning lots of interesting stuff. I didn't know that there are different chemo cocktails and that (for example) one greatly reduces lung capacity for life. The alternative cocktail makes you unimaginably sick, but that's temporary and when it's done, you've still got your lungs...
Today's visit with the surgeon continued along familiar lines.... the news was just a leeeetle bit "off" what I expected to hear... not terrible (I am SOO lucky!), but not as good as I was thinking it could be. This time though, I could see the humor in it... as if the Universe, or God(s), or whatever couldn't resist this elbow to the ribs and snickering.
Remember that I said the tumor had spread just a bit into one of the sentinel nodes. It was not enough to exclude me from the gene mapping assay, but it really, technically is NOT node negative. How could it be, right? Right. Therefore, technically, my cancer was not Stage 1 as we first thought. Until not long ago, this was considered Stage 2 cancer.
Nowadays though, there is a special Stage 1-B just for cases like mine that are technically not node negative, but have such a very tiny amount of tumor in one node, that it is just just just *barely* node positive. Node positive cancer cannot be Stage 1, but it really isn't as bad as Stage 2, therefore it get's to be Stage 1-B. ("Why not 1-A," you ask? Good question! It's on my list for the next appointment!)
So, I can't help but think the joke's on me... I always *have* to record every second and every tenth of a mile of every workout to be sure I'm not fudging anything, and I am regularly teased about it. ("We did, Diane? We rode 29.6 miles? Not 30? It really felt like 30....")
Ok, I do feel the need here to disclose the fact that the tumor was not 1.3cm but was actually 1.6cm... in case those 3mm mean anything to anybody. But, I get it already. It really just doesn't make any difference at all what you call it, does it? It is what it is and we'll treat it the way it needs to be treated.
So, next steps:
1. I have no restrictions on exercise at this point, EXCEPT I can't get in a pool for a whole nother week. GRRR!! At today's appointment she removed a bunch of fluid from under the arm where the lymph nodes were taken out and instantly relieved some pretty severe pain I was having. (Yesterday was the worst day for pain by far since surgery, and that just didn't seem right to me!). She said it could happen again so no swimming while there is a chance she'll have to stick another needle in there. Infection and all of that....
2. I will meet with my radiation oncologist, Dr. Carella in Newtown Square next Thursday to discuss treatment. My surgeon recommends beginning radiation the day after Boston. She sees no reason to start it a few days before Boston (her earliest recommendation based on my healing pace at this point). I might as well go to Boston, give my skin an extra three or four days to heal, and then start it when I get back.
3. My Oncotype DX assay from CA won't be ready for almost two more weeks, so I will meet with my Medical Oncologist, Dr. John Devlin, on April 1st (cool!) to discuss the results of that and whether I need chemo. If I do, that will set back radiation because chemo should come first. And if that's the case, Boston may not be a run for me after all. If I need chemo I don't want to put it off. But we will just have to wait and see about that.
Dr. Barrio said about the Caesar Rodney half-marathon, "why not?" About the Columbia (MD) olympic distance triathlon in May, she said, "I don't think so," but we'll see... it could happen, if I can find a shirt to wear that the sun can't penetrate... maybe I'll make something out of wet suit fabric... Those & Boston are all I am signed up for so far this year.
I'm back at work tomorrow! Have a great weekend and enjoy the lovely weather!
Much love to all,
Diane
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