I went to the oncologist today and the news was even better. The cancer is definetly not in my rib and she and three other radiologists do not think it is in my sternum. The spot on my sternum they believe is from trauma during my surgery three years ago. Between the mastecomy and the reconstruction, I had alot of work done to that area. The lymph nodes did come back positive for cancer. So, I have positive lymph nodes on the right and left side. This is not usually common for breast cancer, but can happen with the type of cancer that I have. I have triple negative breast cancer which is the newer of the breast cancers and they just don't know as much information on this type as others. Not enough research has been done yet, but it is in the process. My doctor has spoken with an expert in triple negative breast cancer at Sloan Ketering Cancer Institute in New York and she is flying to Boston today for a conference at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Breast cancer is one of their specialties and she took my chart with her. I believe a miracle happened today and the Lord touched my rib and sternum. As far as my lung goes, there is just a small amount of fluid and it is not cancerous.
The treatment plan is for four months of chemo. Every other week for four months. Then I will have another mastectomy with reconstruction. They will then do radiation on that breast. I'll then be scanned again. If nothing shows up on the scans then I will be done with treatment. If something does show up, then I will have to do three more months of treatment and another round of radiation. Please pray that I don't have to do the second round. I am still praying about going to Texas this week. So, please continue to pray for wisdom. Again, thank you for all your prayers, love and support.

I'm finally home and it has been a long day. But, we got some good news for a change. The CT scan of my brain came out good. Nothing was there. The type of cancer I have likes to go to the brain. My Dad told my sisters that he knew that it would come back negative because my brain is way too stubborn for cancer to even try it there. Ha! Ha! You have to try and find some humor and laugh or you'll just cry all the time. The bone scan said that there is a hot spot in my sternum that corolates with the PET scan, but it doesn't say that it is or isn't cancer. Could be trauma to my sternum. It also does not show anything in my ribs. Dr. McKeen is going to speak to the radiologist and discuss the results. So, I will remain to be positive about my sternum and continue to pray that the Lord has healed me. And, I am overjoyed that it is not showing anything in my ribs. We can cross that off my list! I also had my lymph nodes biopsied under my right arm, which is the original cancer side. We will hopefully have results on those tomorrow.
All in all a long and exhausting day, but a good day. I will keep my eyes on the Lord and trust him for pending results.

Change of plans. Dr. McKeen called this morning and wants me to get a CT of my head and a bone scan before I have the biopsy. She wants a second opinion on my scans before she does anything invasive. She wants to make sure it really is cancer and not something else. Please pray for a miracle today.

Well...not the news I wanted to hear today. I had a feeling that it was in several of my lymph nodes, but it's more than that. It knocked me off my feet. Unfortunetly, it is in lymph nodes under both of my arms, lymph nodes in my chest and abdomen, my sternum, one rib and I have a pleural effusion. A pleural effusion is fluid in between the sack around my lung and my lung. Now you can see why it knocked me off my feet. This all started back in November when I started having discomfort in my sternum and called the doctors office right away. I knew that breast cancer usually goes to the bones next, so I didn't wait. We did a CT scan and it came up negative. Everything looked fine. So, since the end of November and now, this monster has taken over my body. It is extremely aggressive and fast growing. I will be going to Good Samaratin Hospital tomorrow to have a biopsy of my sternum and to have the fluid drained from my lungs. They will then test the fluid to see if there are any cancer cells in the fluid. As of right now, there is not any cancer in the lung itself or any other major organs. Surgery will have to wait, and I will most likely start chemo on Friday. Chemo will last 6 months and then we will talk about surgery at that point. Devestated doesn't even come close to expressing how I felt. My husband was with me and we just cried. All the negative thoughts flooded in immedietly. This is not fair. I want to see my kids grow up. I want to grow old with my husband. I had my pity party and then we got in the car to go get our kids. And it hit me. Enough, I have two precious children waiting for me at home and I will fight for them. My faith is what will get me through. My sister said she will fight this all the way with me. So, I will put on the full armor of God and I ask that those of you who want to fight with me, put it on too. There is power in numbers and we can fight this battle together and the Lord will lead us. Please lift us up in prayer tomorrow and in the days ahead. I will keep you posted.

It's 4:00 and I have an appointment with Dr. McKeen at 4:45. I went to work today and have kept busy, but now that it is closer to my appointment, I am nervous. Ian is meeting me there and I know it already is what it is. But, it's just the anticipation of the PET scan results. I'm asking for peace no matter what the test says. I will update later with the results.

Tomorrow will be one week since my second diagnosis of breast cancer. This has been one of the longest weeks of my life. I feel like I have known a whole lot longer than a week. It all started about six weeks ago when I found a lump in my other breast. I already had a routine appointment scheduled with my oncologist. Needless to say, she was quite alarmed at the lump. She scheduled a mammogram, ultrasound and MRI for the next day. My mammogram and ultrasound were inconclusive and the MRI showed what looked like mastitis. I made arrangements for a biopsy from there and received the phone call last Monday from the surgeon. It was positive for invasive ductal carcinoma. Only this time it was much larger and looks to be in my lymph nodes from the MRI. This week has been a whirlwind of doctors appointments and more tests. Tomorrow I am getting my Pet Scan at 12:30. I won't get any results tomorrow, but hopefully when I see Dr. McKeen, my oncologist, on Tuesday, we will have results. Please pray for good results. This will tell us if the cancer has spread anywhere.
I also have plans to fly to Texas with Ian and my parents on March 3rd. I will be seeing a doctor out there to review my case and maybe give us another perspective on this whole situation. We will be there four days. Please pray for wisdom in making the right decisions. Also, pray for my kids as they will stay behind with my sisters.
I will try to keep everyone up to date this way. I know people are wanting to call and don't want to bother or overwhelm me. I figured this was a way to keep everyone up on what is going on and to be able to pray for specifics.
Thank you in advance for all your prayers, love and support.