Dream Creator

Dream Creator
My photo
Just a small town Canadian dreamer... This started as the diary of a young woman's experience with breast cancer and continues 5 years later as the diary of a woman, like many other, who has decided to take her lemons and make lemonade. **If reading this blog for the purpose of learning about my breast cancer experience, PLEASE START AT THE OLDEST POST (October 2009) AND WORK YOUR WAY FORWARD**

Friday, February 19, 2010

"To stage the unstageable stage!"

When I went in for my chemo the other day, my oncologist came over for our mini appointment. Not sure how it works in a big city, but here he comes over during each treatment and has an appointment with you so you can ask any questions etc.
One of my questions was "What stage of cancer do I have?"
Can you believe all this time and I have never been told my "stage"?? I know some of you reading may be saying "You had no node involvement so you are stage one!" This is not true. It also depends on the size and type of tumor and spreading through tissue blah blah....
He couldn't answer my question. He said "It's more complicated than that." and showed me my formula for my type of cancer. It was jiberish to me. He said that because of the different types of cancers in my breast and the weird nesting pattern and being borderline HER2+ and Triple Negative he just can't really say.
From what I read, I'd say I'm in a stage 2 somewhere because from what I read you can't be a 3 unless there is node involvement, is this true? Anyone anyone???
Anyways he has been a well respected oncologist for 35 years and has never seen a case like mine he says. Luckily my Kelowna oncologist has seen it once before. I know that being Estrogen neg and Progesterone neg isn't great because there are no target treatments. Originally I thoug I may be Triple Negative Basal (if my HER2, tested neg then that's what I'd be) which I read is very unique and somewhat rare and a bit harder to treat (aggressive) but then when they re-tested my HER2, they said I am borderline. I am neither (or both) HER+, HER2-......crazy.
So I asked my doc, what is worse to be? And he said "HER2+" ...so if there is anyone else out there like me, maybe that will help. He is going to treat me as though I am HER2+ and give me Herceptin, because it shows that it only will benefit me or at least not hinder me. They just believe that I have to do whatever I can to treat what I have or had and prevent it from coming back. So I will. I will do it. I have come this far. What's another year of IV? Plus apparently it doesn't have and pain or nausea, so I hear.....good times!!!
Ciao for now.

No comments: