Update

    Remember when I said they didn’t find any cancer in my lymph nodes after surgery? Psych! They called me about two weeks later and told me that pathology found 0.19mm of cancer in my sentinel lymph node that was taken at surgery. This came as such a shock for me since they told me after surgery they didn’t find any cancer in the lymph nodes. Apparently, they are typically 90% accurate when they look at the lymph node during the time of surgery. It is sent off to pathology for the other 10%. Just as I wish I wasn’t in the small percentage of women my age to be diagnosed with breast cancer, I wish I wasn’t in the 10% category of my pathology results coming back differently than they appeared during surgery. But, I guess I’m just that unique.


    I got off the phone and immediately cried. I didn’t know what this meant. I so desperately wanted my body to be rid of cancer after surgery. I dreaded the thought of more surgery or more chemo. I tried to be rational and not jump to the worst case scenario and just wait to see what the doctors would say.


    Fast forward to a week later after the doctors met at tumor board to discuss my case. They determined that since the amount of cancer that was found in the lymph node was so small (technically anything below 0.20mm is considered clinically negative), I did not need anymore surgery or chemo. I for sure did need radiation and then hormone therapy (a pill). I was relieved to hear this because I was already mentally prepared for radiation and hormone therapy.


    I now have 11 days of no doctor’s appointments before I meet with my radiation oncologist. I’m thankful for the break in appointments.