Completely normal MRI!!!! :) Yay!!!! No evidence of ANY disease!
(((I have also started a family blog - in case I haven't told everyone. http://www.themeisnerfamily.blogspot.com.)))
Monday, May 12, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
6 month MRI
Wow! Where has the time gone?!? On Wednesday, May 7th, I had my 6 month follow-up MRI (back in November I had my 1st mammogram). I am still waiting the results. The techs said 2 days but I went Wednesday night so I bet I will here something Monday. I will post again then.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
As my one year anniversary approaches...
January 8th will mark the one year anniversary of my diagnosis. As this date approaches, I cannot definitively say exactly how I feel about it. I am conflicted. I heard a story somewhere about a woman who compared the date of her diagnosis to her own personal September 11th. Of course the magnitude of that day cannot be directly related to one person's struggles but on that day the country lost something...just like I did on January 8th. Innocence was lost. The feeling of security was something you didn't have to think about on a daily basis. You just felt it. You assumed some sense of invincibility. At 28 did I really have to have this life altering, helath crisis???
January 8th is the day my sense of security and innocence was taken from me by cancer. Cancer, no matter if it's in its early stages or incurable, causes you to live a life full of doubt, what ifs and uncertainties. I play the what if game in my head all the time. What if I didn't get up that night when I felt the lump to feed Collin? What if Collin was never born? Would I have found it? What kind of outcome would there have been if it was found later? What would happen to my family if this was all worse and I wasn't here? I wasn't due for my annual physical until July that year and I wasn't doing regular exams on myself. These thoughts have come to me less than in the beginning but they are still powerful.
The thought of cancer - and the seriousness of it - doesn't consume my every waking moment anymore thankfully. I am still scared and anxious about all of it...mostly about how uncertain life can be. I am glad that I don't wake up and go to bed thinking about it. I am able to think of it for the most part as a bump in the road. And let me tell you it better remain that way.
Here's to the year ahead....health and happiness to all!!!
January 8th is the day my sense of security and innocence was taken from me by cancer. Cancer, no matter if it's in its early stages or incurable, causes you to live a life full of doubt, what ifs and uncertainties. I play the what if game in my head all the time. What if I didn't get up that night when I felt the lump to feed Collin? What if Collin was never born? Would I have found it? What kind of outcome would there have been if it was found later? What would happen to my family if this was all worse and I wasn't here? I wasn't due for my annual physical until July that year and I wasn't doing regular exams on myself. These thoughts have come to me less than in the beginning but they are still powerful.
The thought of cancer - and the seriousness of it - doesn't consume my every waking moment anymore thankfully. I am still scared and anxious about all of it...mostly about how uncertain life can be. I am glad that I don't wake up and go to bed thinking about it. I am able to think of it for the most part as a bump in the road. And let me tell you it better remain that way.
Here's to the year ahead....health and happiness to all!!!
Thursday, November 8, 2007
All Clear!
I had my first follow-up mammogram since my diagnosis in January. I was soooo anxious for the past couple weeks leading up to this. I have had a headache from grinding my teeth because that's what I do when I am nervous.
I had two views on each side and then a magnified one right on my scar. The worst part is waiting afterwards which I forgot about. While still wearing your johnny, you are put in a waiting room with all of the other women who just had their mammograms. It took about 1 1/2 hours for the radiologist to read the films. I was lucky to be in a room with very fun women. The staff said that they had never seen such a room that was so filled with laughter!
The radiologist who read my films was the same one that did my work up in January - Dr. Semine. He is the director of the Women's Imaging Center at Newton-Wellesley and a wonderful man. He remembered me and when I met with him to go over my results he made sure to check in with me about the past year. All my films were clear - nothing to worry about!
My next exam will be in 6 months (May) when I will have an MRI. 6 months from then (next November) I will have another mammogram.
I had two views on each side and then a magnified one right on my scar. The worst part is waiting afterwards which I forgot about. While still wearing your johnny, you are put in a waiting room with all of the other women who just had their mammograms. It took about 1 1/2 hours for the radiologist to read the films. I was lucky to be in a room with very fun women. The staff said that they had never seen such a room that was so filled with laughter!
The radiologist who read my films was the same one that did my work up in January - Dr. Semine. He is the director of the Women's Imaging Center at Newton-Wellesley and a wonderful man. He remembered me and when I met with him to go over my results he made sure to check in with me about the past year. All my films were clear - nothing to worry about!
My next exam will be in 6 months (May) when I will have an MRI. 6 months from then (next November) I will have another mammogram.
More Genetic Testing
Two weeks ago I met with another genetic counselor at Mass General upon the recommendation of Dr. Goss, aka Dr. McDreamy. Long story short...the genetic testing I had done previous came back with a result of "no mutation detected" for the BRAC 1 and the BRCA 2 gene (breast cancer and ovarian cancer genes). I had the short sequencing done which is about 85% accurate. The genetic counselor at MGH told me about the full sequencing test which in combination with the other one would be about 99% accurate. I went ahead and opted to get that done. The results came back the same - no mutation detected. Good news!
We also discussed another gene called p53. This one is not so good. It is a very rare genetic mutation that only a couple hundred people in the world are known to have. It increases your risk of brain (any type) cancer, breast cancer, adrenal cancer, childhood leukemia and sarcomas (soft tissue and bone cancers). With my genetic history, she beleives there is a 10% chance of me carrying this gene. I did not want to get tested for it. There is nothing you can do about it if you are found to be a carrier so what's the point? We both agreed that it would cause needless anxiety and worry and it is best for now to just forget about it. It would be nice to know I wasn't a carrier but testing isn't done that way...
We also discussed another gene called p53. This one is not so good. It is a very rare genetic mutation that only a couple hundred people in the world are known to have. It increases your risk of brain (any type) cancer, breast cancer, adrenal cancer, childhood leukemia and sarcomas (soft tissue and bone cancers). With my genetic history, she beleives there is a 10% chance of me carrying this gene. I did not want to get tested for it. There is nothing you can do about it if you are found to be a carrier so what's the point? We both agreed that it would cause needless anxiety and worry and it is best for now to just forget about it. It would be nice to know I wasn't a carrier but testing isn't done that way...
Friday, August 17, 2007
Radiation....Check!
Radiation is officially over! Today was my last treatment and Jeffrey came with me to say his goodbyes to his new "friends." The valet men, the security officer, the receptionists, the therapists, the nurses, the patients...there was not one person there left unplayed with!
So now I wait until my one month follow-ups before I go back to the doctor again. What will I do now with all of my free time?!?!?
So now I wait until my one month follow-ups before I go back to the doctor again. What will I do now with all of my free time?!?!?
Friday, August 10, 2007
I have my own "McDreamy"
You may not know but I am a huge fan of the TV show, "Grey's Anatomy." For those of you who are not familiar with the show, there is a very handsome doctor on it (Patrick Dempsey) who was called "McDreamy" in one of the episodes which has stuck with him. I am happy to say that I now have my own McDreamy.
Last week, my radiation oncologist sent me to see a medical oncologist at MGH that specializes in breast cancer and hormone (endocrine) therapy. My tumor tested was found to be "weakly positive" for progesterone receptors so I questioned whether or not I should undergo endocrine therapy.
So I was waiting in the exam room after speaking with McDreamy's Nurse Practitioner when in walks this dreamboat with a stunning English accent. He spent about an hour with me going over my history (which he already knew before he came in), explaining what he thought and possible treatment options.
McDreamy (he actually has a real name, Dr. Goss) told me that he strongly believes there is a genetic component to my story. He is having the Genetics Department at MGH review my genetic testing to be sure the long version of the test was done. He rattled off some technical link that he feels may be the culprit because to him it is too suspicious that my grandmother had breast cancer and my mother's type of brain cancer may have some link to this genetic mutation. He explained that I may not have tested positive for a mutation in the BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 genes (the ones they test for and know of the direct link) but I may have a mutation in an undiscovered genetic link. He went on to explain to me what having a genetic mutation of that type really means. Think of your body like a car manufacturing plant. Every cell in your body is a car. Somewhere during the assembly process, the breast cells in your body had something left off. Some may be missing the horn which isn't that big of a deal but some may be missing the engine which is. Every cell isn't quite right which is why it is so important to know for sure if this is genetically linked somehow. In random cancer, it's like a car accident. You go in and clean it up and that's that. In a genetic cancer, there is something faulty everywhere.
After we finished that discussion, we started to talk about the hormone therapy. He offered me a clinical trial but we decided to take what the clinical trial was doing and tailor it ourselves. So I will be taking Tamoxifen for 2 years and then switch to an Aromitase Inhibitor with ovarian suppression for 5 more years with the possibility of extending that length of time. He was so thorough with his explanation of how this all worked.
A woman's body produces estrogen (I know we were talking about progesterone but progesterone doesn't work without estrogen) from two sources - the ovaries and fat. Tamoxifen blocks the door to the cancer cell so that no hormones can enter. His analogy for this one was to think of the ovaries and fat as the "kitchen" and the cancer cells as the "dining hall." The kitchen will still be cooking but the door to the dining hall will be blocked so no one can eat. When I switch to the Aromitase Inhibitor with ovarian suppression, the kitchen will be closed and the dining hall will be blocked. Make sense?
Dr. Goss' business card is filled to capacity with his titles which are really impressive. When I made my follow up appointment with him (in October) his secretary asked where I was coming from. She said that she always tells people who are travelling from far away to see him to buy the travel insurance because he travels all over the world and might need to cancel - he's that good!
Last week, my radiation oncologist sent me to see a medical oncologist at MGH that specializes in breast cancer and hormone (endocrine) therapy. My tumor tested was found to be "weakly positive" for progesterone receptors so I questioned whether or not I should undergo endocrine therapy.
So I was waiting in the exam room after speaking with McDreamy's Nurse Practitioner when in walks this dreamboat with a stunning English accent. He spent about an hour with me going over my history (which he already knew before he came in), explaining what he thought and possible treatment options.
McDreamy (he actually has a real name, Dr. Goss) told me that he strongly believes there is a genetic component to my story. He is having the Genetics Department at MGH review my genetic testing to be sure the long version of the test was done. He rattled off some technical link that he feels may be the culprit because to him it is too suspicious that my grandmother had breast cancer and my mother's type of brain cancer may have some link to this genetic mutation. He explained that I may not have tested positive for a mutation in the BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 genes (the ones they test for and know of the direct link) but I may have a mutation in an undiscovered genetic link. He went on to explain to me what having a genetic mutation of that type really means. Think of your body like a car manufacturing plant. Every cell in your body is a car. Somewhere during the assembly process, the breast cells in your body had something left off. Some may be missing the horn which isn't that big of a deal but some may be missing the engine which is. Every cell isn't quite right which is why it is so important to know for sure if this is genetically linked somehow. In random cancer, it's like a car accident. You go in and clean it up and that's that. In a genetic cancer, there is something faulty everywhere.
After we finished that discussion, we started to talk about the hormone therapy. He offered me a clinical trial but we decided to take what the clinical trial was doing and tailor it ourselves. So I will be taking Tamoxifen for 2 years and then switch to an Aromitase Inhibitor with ovarian suppression for 5 more years with the possibility of extending that length of time. He was so thorough with his explanation of how this all worked.
A woman's body produces estrogen (I know we were talking about progesterone but progesterone doesn't work without estrogen) from two sources - the ovaries and fat. Tamoxifen blocks the door to the cancer cell so that no hormones can enter. His analogy for this one was to think of the ovaries and fat as the "kitchen" and the cancer cells as the "dining hall." The kitchen will still be cooking but the door to the dining hall will be blocked so no one can eat. When I switch to the Aromitase Inhibitor with ovarian suppression, the kitchen will be closed and the dining hall will be blocked. Make sense?
Dr. Goss' business card is filled to capacity with his titles which are really impressive. When I made my follow up appointment with him (in October) his secretary asked where I was coming from. She said that she always tells people who are travelling from far away to see him to buy the travel insurance because he travels all over the world and might need to cancel - he's that good!
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