Filed under: Welcome!
The last week has been a little flurry of medical appointments:
- March 10 – Dr. Livingston, Medical Oncologist. In reply to asking what his role would be, he said, “I manage your medications.” Our personalities do not make a good team, so I asked my surgeon to refer me to another medical oncologist.
- March 14 – Dr. Nettleton, Radiation Oncologist at Cochise Oncology. She is nice enough and gave me some good advice. She has two complimentary hospitality houses for out-of-town patients like myself. I will be staying there weekdays during the 4 to 6 weeks of radiation treatment. How sweet is that?
- March 17 – Gina, Radiation Therapist at Cochise Oncology. Very sweet. Gave me 3 tattoos so that they can align the lasers properly every time I come in for treatment. She also did a CAT Scan of my interior space in order to have a baseline for comparison. It was very interesting to look at all the pictures. What struck me was how asymmetrical I am.
- March 18 – Dr. Susan Kratz, Medical Oncologist. She used to work at Cochise Oncology and now practices in Tucson. She is a delightful doctor who seems to understand my concerns and spent time answering my questions. I am going to enjoy knowing her.
The happy news is that I do not need to have chemotherapy. The survival rate is pretty good whether I have chemo or not.
Radiation will begin March 28, 2011. There are about 200 TomoTherapy radiation machines in the world and only 3 in arizona. I am lucky enough to have two within about a one hour drive. This is the most precise machine for breast cancer and the treatment plan will be drawn to avoid my heart and lungs.
Why do I need radiation since the tumor was surgically removed with clean margins? Well, it seems there is something called ‘seeding’. Cells are microscopic and it is impossible to tell if a cell was inadvertently left behind while the tumor was being removed. All it takes is one little cell to create havoc in the future. When a lumpectomy is followed with radiation therapy, the long term results are the same as if a mastectomy had been performed.
The decision I am left to contemplate is whether or not to take hormone therapy. It may increase my odds a little bit but hormone suppression drugs also have side effects.
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