2nd Opinion

Hillary and I met with Dr. Lagios, an independent pathologist specializing in breast cancer 2nd opinions. His analysis on the biopsy slides from Kaiser were the same, a nice confirmation, but his interpretation of the MRI was different than the radiologist I had met with. The report says the 2nd lump is a lymph node and that what I have is invasive ductal carcinoma with lobular features, the most common kind. Dr. Lagios' demeanor was less sensational and fear based and more....hmmm....what exactly I can't pin point, maybe calm and straight forward?. Kaiser has said that if a lymph node is infected, chemo is a must. Dr. Lagios says that if you have 3 or less lymph nodes infected, you can test the oncotype and find out more accurately how your cancer would respond to chemo and it might not be worth doing. Kaiser said if a lymph node is infected they don't test the oncotype, so we'll see. He also reassured me that the sensations I'm now feeling in my breast are a result of the core biopsy and that one wants the lumpectomy within 8-12 weeks of discovery and mine will be 6 weeks. Over the weekend I was thinking maybe I should've signed on for surgery today instead of waiting until the 12th. He also confirmed that I didn't want to have chemo to shrink the tumors before surgery, which I was stressing about this morning. So, as they say, information is power and I'm feeling the strength to come through this. When the Watsue masseuse first held me in the water at Harbin Hot Springs, I felt I was going to be okay, and now I believe it. Whew, it feels good to turn the corner on that :) thanks for all of your support!