6. Second Opinion

Mom and I went up to UC Davis Cancer Center today. I was anxious to learn more about internal radiation. As it turns out, the internal method has not got enough data to know what the long term success rates are. It is not recommended for young people like me. Guess if I were 10 years closer to the grave they would consider it, but I'm not, so they won't. Guess that is a good thing.

Then my brain started to wonder what to do now.... I don't want to go through 6 weeks of radiation only to have the chances of recurrence at 20%. I want it closer to 0 % ! Explained to the surgeon my desire to avoid radiation. He said a mastectomy would most likely NOT require radiation, unless of course it is in my lymph nodes or too close to my chest wall.....neither of which is probable. But they won't know about the nodes until they do surgery.

According to the surgeon I can do either method - Lumpectomy with radiation or mastectomy with reconstruction and probably avoid radiation. So now I have to decide whether or not to remove my left breast and have reconstruction surgery. My next move is to reach out to friends and friends of friends who have been through this so I can ask them about their treatment and whether they regret doing or not doing  a mastectomy. Working on scheduling time with a Plastic Surgeon at UC Davis to discuss what is involved and what to expect.

This is a very tough decision. I am not looking forward to losing a boob, but losing my life would suck a lot more!! I will continue with my quest for information in hopes of finding the right decision for me.

So happy that my mom was there with me...sure makes it easier to get through - love you mom!!

4. CPIC Conference in San Francisco

Last Saturday, my mom, Jane, and I attended the Cancer Prevention Institute of California’s 10th annual breast cancer conference in Golden Gate National Recreation Area at the Presidio with views of the bay and Golden Gate Bridge.  It was an absolutely beautiful setting to learn about such an ugly disease. 

So as not to cause confusion let me explain about my moms. Jane is my adoptive mom who raised me from birth, but is ironically a breast cancer survivor of nearly 10 years. My birth mother, Elizabeth, has never been diagnosed with breast cancer, though her sister was when she was near 70. 

This conference came along at THE perfect time. I have so many questions about surgery, radiation, nutrition and a lot of things I don’t even know I don’t know! There were probably 200+ in attendance, mostly women, all there to learn about breast cancer, and BOY DID I !!

Hard to put it in a nutshell, but I will try….. One thing I learned, I already knew-time to make drastic changes in my diet. No more fast food burgers for me! Started eating much healthier and taking vitamins. No alcohol for long while until I have conquered this disease. 

Something else I learned is that this disease kills people and I have to take control of my own care if I want the best for me. Though the survival rates are getting much better, and my cancer is very small and not aggressive, I have the biggest fight thus far of my life ahead of me. The need to be diligent about my treatment was reinforced at this conference.

Genetics is an interesting topic as it relates to cancer. If you have a family history of breast cancer, they can check you for markers to determine if you will get the disease. I did not attend this break out session, but mom said it was very interesting. 

We learned about alternative options like internal radiation. There is a procedure where they can give you radiation at the same time they take out the lump and you never have to go back for radiation. There is also something called a mammaprint that will tell the probability that the cancer will recur, and since over 90% of 2nd breast cancers occur near the same location, this will help guide me in my treatment. Not sure if these are options for me, but I am sure going to find out! 

Overall it was a great conference that gave me lots to think about and work with.