Info dump!

Hiiii. The past six weeks have been full of appointments and various degrees of poking and prodding and now I know…I definitely have breast cancer. (That’s a fact, but also a reference to a very very funny line from the very very terrible movie “The Room”.) Officially got the news just as I turned 40, so it was kinda nice having all the medical professionals talk about how “young” I am as I was hitting a big new decade.

It’s invasive ductal carcinoma, which is the most common – and therefore most treated – type of breast cancer. So far we know it’s T2 because it’s around 2.3 cm, and grade 3 because the cells are the most aggro. We won’t know spread/stage until they surgically remove the tumor and check my sentinel lymph node(s), and the timing of that surgery is at least 4-6 weeks out. The good news is that all my lymph nodes feel good and their imaging looks normal so far, which is a decent sign that it hasn’t spread, or hasn’t spread a ton.

Other good news is that it’s ER and PR positive, meaning that it should respond well to hormone therapy. That helps with treatment now and preventing recurrence down the line.

I spoke with a genetics counselor and gave them some blood to play with, and I’m negative for the top 9 genes related to breast cancer. As a result, my doctor isn’t recommending more aggressive preventive measures (like taking off both boobs just in case, or grabbing the ovaries cuz they’re also suspicious lady parts), and also it’s nice cuz my immediate relatives are less likely to have those dangerous mutations.

A recent MRI showed a different nearby spot that looks troubling, so I have another ultrasound and maybe biopsy early next week. If this new spot is also cancerous, that will affect the scope and complexity of the surgery. We’ll see!

We’re currently waiting on my HER2 results, which could arrive today or take another week. If positive, the growth is more aggressive and I’ll likely start chemo in the next couple weeks. If negative, the plan will be surgery around early November, followed by 4-6 weeks of healing, then possibly chemo for a while, and then 5 weeks of radiation.

So that’s that.

Otherwise, I’m pretty great! Been working remote for Mattel for a while with really lovely people. It allows me to jump around a lot for fun travel and to spend time with the fella, who is currently finishing a locum contract in Vermont. If the HER2 result comes back negative, we’ll be hopping on a cruise to Antarctica in a little under two weeks, taking our shared travels up to 6 countries and 5 continents – not bad for a year and change! I recently visited Jacky and her family and saw her boys get their white belts in karate by kicking boards in half. And of course here in Hawaii, it’s always fun chaos with Jenni and her family.

I have so many amazing, caring, helpful people in my life, most of whom are (unfortunately? fortunately?) already trained in supporting me through hard times. When Jonas died at the start of 2021, I was shattered. In the years since, family and friends helped put me back together with love, kindness, generosity, humor, and a truly ridiculous number of jigsaw puzzles. It was – and still is – the worst thing that’s happened in my life. Now I’m facing this fun new thing, and I’m honestly feeling stressed and bummed, but overall I’d describe myself as resigned and hilarious. It’s a whole new sector of life that I’m now allowed to joke about! And this is backed up by my vitals before my first surgical consult – the nurse was impressed by my unelevated blood pressure.

Now I’m gonna go eat some chips and read a book.