Pathology Report post surgery

Tuesday, July 21, 2020

Chad and I met with Dr. Lucas today. She said the drains and incisions look good and are working properly. The drains are really annoying and hang from tubes that come out below the incisions. It really limits my wardrobe choices and movement. I either pin them to my undershirt or wear a garment with pockets to put the bulbs in. The drains will come out when there is 30 ml or less per day for two consecutive days.

The pathology report showed the left breast had Lobular Carcinoma In Situ and Atypical Lobular Hyperplasia. There was no evidence of Invasive Carcinoma. The right breast had three areas of Invasive Lobular Carcinoma with the largest one measuring 1.5 cm. Of the two sentinel nodes removed one was negative and one was positive for micrometastases measuring 1.1 mm. The pathologic stage is determined as pT1c and pN1mi. The doctor said this is stage 1.

Dr. Lucas will order an Oncotype Test and refer me to the medical oncologist for further treatment. She said I will not have another surgery at this time.

The results of the genetic testing should be back by the end of this week or beginning of next week.

I left her office and sat in the car and cried. While there was some good news I was sad about the positive lymph node.

What will my life look like over the next few months in treatment? What do I want my life after treatment to look like? Will the cancer come back? Can I still live to be 95 years old like my grandmothers? Every day we get to make decisions about how we want our lives to go. I never expected to be living with cancer and making treatment decisions for myself. I am grateful that I am not doing this alone. I am loved and supported by so many people. Thank you.