Medical update
Oct. 7th, 2007 09:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annathepiperUntil I can make myself a decent icon of either Leetah or Mender from Elfquest (or perhaps Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender) doing an act of healing, I think The Doyle is going to serve as my icon for further updates on the BFFN.
Had my appointment with Dr. Taylor, the radiation oncologist, on Friday afternoon. That went about like I expected; he didn't have anything much to tell me about radiation treatment that I haven't already either heard about from those of you fine folks listening in who have briefed me, or read about in the literature I've been given. Two things of note that I will mention though are that 1) my left breast is confirmed clean, and 2) as I expected, Dr. Taylor confirmed that radiation therapy would not be any kind of a fertility risk for me, and that indeed, the fact that I am pushing 40 would be more of an issue with any future childbearing concerns than getting zapped would. So.
An overall more interesting topic of conversation during our consultation turned out to be more on the MRI results--because apparently Dr. Taylor had also seen them and had new data. According to the MRI, there is a second, smaller area of concern a few centimeters in front of where Dr. Towbin did the first biopsy. This place is apparently registering with a richer blood flow than normal, so Dr. Taylor says that they'll probably want to do what they call an MRI-guided biopsy to go in there and check that out, and see whether there's any DCIS there or whether it's something that can be safely ignored. However, Taylor was also echoing what Dr. Kohn was saying, which seemed to indicate that Towbin's already gotten out most of the big lump (Kohn was calling it an "excisional biopsy"), and that the only concern there at this point was that the margins around the surgical cavity were less clean than they'd like. So I need to get him to clarify that, still.
So it's sounding like the game plan will be to find out first of all whether I'm interpreting what both Dr. Kohn and Dr. Taylor were saying correctly, and verify with Dr. Towbin how much of the big lump is left and whether more than just margin cleanup has to happen there. Then do the MRI-guided biopsy thing on the little area and find out if it's a problem, and whether it has to come out too.
If the little area is not a problem, then that means just cleaning up where Towbin went in before on the big lump (however much is required there), followed most likely by radiation therapy and some tamoxifen to minimize risk of a recurrence in either breast. If the little area is a problem, that starts raising issues of how much of my breast can be conserved, which would be annoying. As I am generally pro-boobie, it'd be nice if I can keep it more or less intact. So cross your fingers for the little area not being an issue, folks.
More on this tomorrow after I talk with Dr. Towbin.
Had my appointment with Dr. Taylor, the radiation oncologist, on Friday afternoon. That went about like I expected; he didn't have anything much to tell me about radiation treatment that I haven't already either heard about from those of you fine folks listening in who have briefed me, or read about in the literature I've been given. Two things of note that I will mention though are that 1) my left breast is confirmed clean, and 2) as I expected, Dr. Taylor confirmed that radiation therapy would not be any kind of a fertility risk for me, and that indeed, the fact that I am pushing 40 would be more of an issue with any future childbearing concerns than getting zapped would. So.
An overall more interesting topic of conversation during our consultation turned out to be more on the MRI results--because apparently Dr. Taylor had also seen them and had new data. According to the MRI, there is a second, smaller area of concern a few centimeters in front of where Dr. Towbin did the first biopsy. This place is apparently registering with a richer blood flow than normal, so Dr. Taylor says that they'll probably want to do what they call an MRI-guided biopsy to go in there and check that out, and see whether there's any DCIS there or whether it's something that can be safely ignored. However, Taylor was also echoing what Dr. Kohn was saying, which seemed to indicate that Towbin's already gotten out most of the big lump (Kohn was calling it an "excisional biopsy"), and that the only concern there at this point was that the margins around the surgical cavity were less clean than they'd like. So I need to get him to clarify that, still.
So it's sounding like the game plan will be to find out first of all whether I'm interpreting what both Dr. Kohn and Dr. Taylor were saying correctly, and verify with Dr. Towbin how much of the big lump is left and whether more than just margin cleanup has to happen there. Then do the MRI-guided biopsy thing on the little area and find out if it's a problem, and whether it has to come out too.
If the little area is not a problem, then that means just cleaning up where Towbin went in before on the big lump (however much is required there), followed most likely by radiation therapy and some tamoxifen to minimize risk of a recurrence in either breast. If the little area is a problem, that starts raising issues of how much of my breast can be conserved, which would be annoying. As I am generally pro-boobie, it'd be nice if I can keep it more or less intact. So cross your fingers for the little area not being an issue, folks.
More on this tomorrow after I talk with Dr. Towbin.
no subject
Date: 2007-10-09 03:30 am (UTC)