Update

Ok, I'm gonna divide these posts in to two categories (for now): ramblings and updates. Here we go with some updates:

-My oncologist is Dr. Kirk Heyne.

-My surgeon is Dr. Gretchen Zimmerman.

-So far all of my procedeures have been at St. Lukes.

-I am getting a website on "lotsahelpinghands.com" where I will post days of my surgeries/chemo/radiation and let everyone see when and how I need help. If I understand the site right, you'll be able to sign up there to help me and the boys out.

-We still won't know the type and stage of the cancer for sure for a few more weeks.

-We had original surgery Monday the 19th and they cut out some of the cancer, but they missed some and will have to go in at a later date.

Here's the latest:
We found out my cancer is "hormone sensitive." This is a good thing. It means that, in addition to chemo and radiation, I will be able to have hormone therapy which ups the magic number we're always talking about, "cure rate."

My oncologist has decided that it's difficult to tell from films where the cancer actually starts and stops inside me. So the next thing we're doing is an MRI next Tuesday. This will hopefully help the surgeon better understand where and how much to cut out next time.

But, it looks like I'll be starting chemo before the next surgery. Here's why- they want me to take two gene tests (simple blood tests) to determine if I carry the cancer gene. As of now I have a 10-15% chance of carrying the genes. If I do have the genes, then I will have a 65% chance of eventually getting cancer in both my breasts and ovaries. If that's the case then the oncologist will recommend a double mastectomy. So that's why we're waiting before we do more surgery. There's no reason to cut a little more now if we eventually going the mastectomy route.

Starting the chemo now should stop growth of any cancerous cell still in there.

So I'm getting blood tests and MRI next Tuesday. (and we won't need any help after that.) Then the surgeon will put in the portocath (a small tube in my chest that allows them to bypass using an iv for every chemo treatment) and sample the nodes to see if its spread. I don't have a timeline for this right now. One step at a time.

Thanks for the prayers!!!