Genetics results!

Absolutely perfect Monday!!

The gene they tested for has come back as negative, it's a huge relief!

Geneticist says it highly unlikely to be either of the BRCA genes, it could be another they don't test for, but even they won't be as bad as the TP53 could have been.

Looks like it could all be a simple case of big boob, bad cell!

So incredibly happy!

Now for the celebrations...

Results!!

This morning I received my bone scan results and operation results.

The bone scan showed no sign of spread into my bones, which is a huge relief. The peculiar patches must just have been the damage caused by chemo.

As for my operation. They took a huge lump of tissue (9.4 cm x 7 cm x 5 cm i believe, 149 grams) as the MRI and mammogram showed a big shadow and they have to remove a certain amount of healthy tissue around it too, to make sure nothing nasty is left behind.

I had a ductal carcinoma, which is where the cancer spreads out of the duct and surrounds it, creating what was the huge lump. In all the tissue removed when it was tested there were no remaining cancer cells!! 

Yey for chemo! It's done an amazing job.

Within the affected duct they found DCIS (ductal carcinoma in-situ). This is pre-cancerous cells, ones that could potentially become cancerous. They have good margins round most of it, just on one side the cells are too close to the edge of the sample. Meaning I need another operation in two weeks to have a cavity shave. Removing a little more tissue to ensure theres nothing nasty left over that could become cancerous in the future.

If there is a visible difference cosmetically (which there isn't at the moment), I may be able to have lipo remodelling, this, I think, is where they inject some of my body fat into the dint to kind of bulk it back up.

Thank goodness I have more than my fair share of boobs eh!

My stitch has been removed and the scar looks like it will be barely visible!

All in all a bloody good morning!!

Now to keep my fingers crossed that genetics this afternoon goes well... Xx

6 months!

6 months today since that dreaded word "cancer" became a huge part of my life and named itself as the opponent of the biggest, and most difficult, fight I'll probably ever face.

It's true that you don't hear anything after that word, all I remember from that room is "cancer" and "You'll lose your hair". I probably did a pretty good impression of a goldfish as those words hit me like a slow motion train crash.

The last 6 months has been a huge roller-coaster of emotions and appointments. I have had two operations, 6 doses of chemotherapy and 5 doses of herceptin.

I have also changed as a person, physically and mentally. I have found that I am stronger than I could have ever imagined and I have more willpower than I believed. My body has fought and has not let me down.

I will keep rolling the punches out as I have more herceptin, radiotherapy, tamoxifen and possibly further surgery.

6 months!

Today, I am winning.

Wide Local Excision (WLE) operation.

Monday I had my wide local excision (WLE or lumpectomy).

Firstly I had to have a wire placed in my bad boob so my surgeon knew exactly where to look for the nasty lump. This required a mammogram to see exactly where the lump was, then I was sat down in front of the mammogram machine and positioned, another mammogram was taken but this time it didn't let me go. For those that have not had a mammogram, it hurts! Imagine your breast being squashed and squashed and squashed until you become seriously worried that it won't stop and your breast will explode, that pretty much explains it. Now imagine you're left in that torture device whilst someone puts a local anaesthetic in with a needle and then threads a wire through your breast. Ouchy! With the wire poking out I was freed, stood up and had to have another mammogram to check the final wire placement. I am rather surprised i was not completely bruised the day after!

This unsurprisingly was the start of the tears for the day.

Next I had to wait to be taken to theatre, a good few hours later. 3.20pm I went down to the anaesthetic room and said bye to my mum. My surgeon came to see me in the anaesthetic room, he had a look at my wire placement and said that that lump looked bigger than they expected on the mammogram and I will need a mastectomy if there are too many cells in the report from this operation. He did however feel that a WLE was the right operation to start with, but to me didn't sound too positive about me not needing further surgery.

The anaesthetist was a lovely man, unfortunately he said chemo has ruined my veins despite me having a PICC / port-a-cath from the off, meaning it was difficult to cannulate me. After two attempts in my good arm he had to resort to using my bad arm (I am meant to try and avoid injections, cannulas and blood pressures etc on my right arm as I have had lymph nodes removed). The stress from all this made me cry. I'd love to have a week off from all this rubbish! I had a nurse who held my hand again while I fell asleep, you really can't get much better patient-centered care than that!

I woke up very spaced out, woozy and feeling very sick. So I was given two lots of anti-sickness medicines through another cannula they had put in in theatre in my good arm, and fell asleep while I was taken to the ward. 5.30pm I arrived back on the ward to my mum and boyfriend waiting for me. Turns out the sickness and woozyness was caused by morphine, which also managed to drop my blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen levels and temperature. One nurse didn't believe my temperature was 34.6 so took another reading and promptly wrapped me in two blankets, my dressing gown and a wooly hat! I had to keep my oxygen on and had a lovely, drug induced, snooze.

Once all my numbers were up I was allowed to get up, have my dressing changed and got dressed. I managed all this so got discharged home at about 9.15pm.

I am now well dosed up on painkillers as I am quite sore, I am resting lots but also doing my required exercises. I have a huge dressing covering the incision (no picture sorry as it would be too revealing!) and I have a two week wait to find out if all this was all unnecessary or not. I'm keeping everything crossed that I do not need a mastectomy!

MRI results... One thing after another!

Yesterday I had an appointment with my surgical consultant followed by herceptin.

The surgical appointment wasn't exactly to what I wanted to hear. He still wants to go ahead with a lumpectomy, which is what I want. It sounds like chemo has changed that 6cm lump on the last MRI to a 4cm shadow on the recent one, some of this he feels could possibly be the reaction of the cells on the outside of the lump to the cancer cells. We won't know this until the results come back from testing after the op though. That second suspicious patch wasn't visible this time! If there are too many viable cancer cells I will need a mastectomy, which I do not want, at all! Not that I have a choice like. As I have a "larger bust" (his words not mine) it shouldn't really be that noticeable that I have had a chunk that big cut out.

I find it strange that just a 2cm reduction can result in such a palpable difference. It has gone from being visible without having to feel, to only just being able to find it!

I found a long dint/groove in bad boob a week and a half ago, which made me panic (a taster of what I'm going to feel like every time I find something funny with my boobs in future). He had a look and feels it is just due to pesky fluid retention that I am already on tablets for.

The other unexpected thing was that he started asking if I have had any strange aches or pains in my arms. I have had really sore hips and legs since chemo which I mostly put down to chemo and fluid retention. My arms have also had the odd ache and I have a few times had a sharp pain in what feels like the bones in my hands and feet, only about 2-4 times a week lasting 30 secs-1 min which I thought again was chemo. Can only describe it as somewhere in the middle of standing on a needle and standing on a plug! Turns out that due to the positioning when I have had my MRI my upper arms have been on the scan. This has shown some "peculiar" patches on the bones in my upper arms which means I will need another bone scan to see what's going on in there. He feels it is unlikely to be cancer cells as my node test came back with no evidence of cells, as did my bone scan before chemo. It could all just be caused by the effects of chemo, which goes to show just how much all this treatment affects your body! Keeping everything crossed that it is just chemo. Doesn't stop me worrying.

Herceptin all went ok. 5 down, 13 to go! Stupidly forgot to put my "magic cream" over my port therefore the needle going in blooming hurt!

In other news I have had a few eye problems recently, after a trip to A&E and then eye clinic it turned out to be an advanced allergy to something, I think again probably caused by chemo. Three sets of drops later they feel much better. Think I have also hit the chemopause, I don't like the sound of menopause at 24! Same symptoms though, hot flushes arn't much fun!

All in all a pretty rubbish day yesterday and yet more waiting and probably worrying... Xx