Final results!

Cancer is gone! All tests came back negative for cancer, the node and the tumor. However, due to the size of my tumor, that puts me borderline stage II. I will for sure have to have radiation, but it will be for the oncologist, me and Tim to work out the chemo. The surgeon said that when you're that close to stage II, they like to do chemo. It decreases the chance of reoccurrance by 5% more than radiation alone. And due to my young age (below 50), 5% is a lot. So, who knows what will happen with that. She's going to make an appointment for me in about a week because he can't start radiation until one month out of surgery.

Also, I will take the drug Tamoxifen for five years. Joy of joys. It will send me into menopause. My daughter, Kati, is thanking heaven above that she no longer lives with me. She had always hoped she would be out before I went through menopause.

I can never take a birth control pill again that contains estrogen or any other drug containing estrogen for that matter. She told me it is really better for me to have a gynecologist instead of having my family doctor take care of the female stuff. She will take care of future mammograms and other necessary tests to make sure it's not coming back. Not that I trust mammograms too much now.

According to the surgeon, I have had breast cancer for probably 8-9 months. I had a mammogram last September and paid the extra to have it digitally read. That was supposed to find what the mammogram itself wouldn't plus the potential for anything to arise. So much for that idea.

She said my incisions looked real good even though I think the one under my arm looks hideous. I don't have to wear bandages anymore, but i'm going to wear a small piece of gauze with tape only around the edges so my wound can breathe. When I put my arm down, it's skin on skin. That don't feel good at all!

And here's something that's going to drive me crazy. Because she took out the tumor and tissue, there's an empty cavity there. It will fill up with fluid and blood. As a matter of fact, already has. When I walk I can hear fluid moving around! She said it's probably from under my arm too. They had to go in about 2-3 inches into my armpit to get to the node. So, they had to push muscle and other inhabitants of the armpit to the side to get down there. Ew. So that left a cavity that has to fill in as well. Of course, the node is only about the size of a thumbnail, but they had to dig their way down and the cavity will fill up with fluid until everything falls back into place.

All in all, I'm doing great. I feel good. I'm going back to work tomorrow. I really miss my students. I can't wait to dig into english lit. William Faulkner is waiting.