Up Staged

I saw Dr. Bose, medical oncologist, at the Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis on Friday. My entire family went - Marlin, Grant, Lindsay and Aaron - and was included in the consultation. I was impressed by the consultation. Dr. Bose had made several pages of notes, obviously had reviewed all of my test results and asked me to share my story regarding the lump. He spent nearly 90 minutes with me and made several recommendations.
The MRI completed at Freeman on March 25th revealed a "suspicious lesion" in the other breast and a lymph node near the breast bone. The fact that my initial tumor was greater than 5 centimeters and that the sentinal node was positive added with the new information, elevates the cancer stage to III. Dr. Bose recommended that I see a breast cancer surgeon and have more surgery immediately to remove all lymph nodes from the affected side (left) and to get a biopsy of the lesion in the right breast. I have an appointment to see a breast cancer surgeon in St. Louis on Tuesday, April 1.
Dr. Bose plans to have the pathologist review my tissue specimens and plans to repeat some of the tests on the tumor tissue- specifically the HER2/neu which will help determine chemotherapy drugs. He recommends that I get the breast cancer gene test - since I have a strong family history. He also wants to get additional CT scans.
My case will be reviewed by a "tumor board" on Thursday. This board is a multi-disciplinary team of 5 different cancer specialists that reviews my case and makes recommendations for treatment to the primary oncologist. So I'll be a "case study".
Thank you for the prayers, as our travel was uneventful. We ate a nice dinner Friday evening at Joe's Crab Shack - one of Grant's favorite places - and I had a nice plate of shrimp and a couple of margaritas. Shoe-shopping was also on the agenda and I got some cute summer sandals. My birthday was March 29th, I received several birthday cards. Marlin got be a dozen beautiful dark pink roses and a pink iPod nano - which I am really enjoying.
Thanks to Kathy and Lori for sharing their journey and for their guidance and listening ear. Continue prayers and positive thoughts as I move forward . . . .
Love to all - Ellen