Testing means waiting....and waiting....and waiting....

Today I had my bone scan at the hospital. This is done to see if the cancer cells have spread to your bones. The process involves injecting radioactive "stuff" into one's vein, letting it course through the bloodstream and then taking "pictures." So, I headed for the hospital a bit before 9 this morning to get my injection at 9. I was out by 9:12....it was wonderfully quick. I ran some local errands, went home to check on schoolwork and get lunch, and headed back to the hospital at noon for the whole body scan.

When I arrived, I was told I would need to wait about 15 minutes as they were finishing up another test. At about 12:20, I was called in and positioned on another long "slab" built not only to scan bodies but to also test people's ability to not panic if they don't like enclosed places. I kid you not - that bone scan thingy was no more than 3 inches from my nose! It was a relatively easy test, if you don't mind lying still for long periods of time. I wish they played some music during the test, though. It would help pass the time, I think. Plus, it would help drown out the voices of the techs who are discussing your case within earshot. Somehow that unnerved me, and when the test was completed, all I wanted to do was rush home where I knew it was safe. They tell me the results will be back either late tomorrow or Thursday. God is sovereign over this, too, so I will keep reminding myself of that and try to sleep well tonight.

I also remembered that I had not scheduled a follow up appointment with the surgeon after last week's biopsy, in spite of the reminder on the post-op orders sitting on my desk. I called the doctor's office in the late morning and had an appointment for 3:15 today. I still am amazed at how pleasant their staff is to work with; they are so helpful. Michael went with me, armed with a list of questions for the doctor. After I had my one lone stitch removed, the doctor sat with us and answered as many questions as we threw at him. We found out the following things:

1. The pathology on the skin biopsy came back negative, indicating that the cancer did not involve the skin. However, the oncologist still says (and told the surgeon) that the skin still looks like a classic case of inflammatory breast cancer (meaning it does involve the skin) and she is proceeding with that understanding. The way the surgeon explains it is that it is possible to get a false negative if the area of skin he biopsied is clear but a surrounding area is not. It makes sense to us, plus the treatment course would be exactly the same right now anyway.
2. The results from the receptor test also came back, showing that hormones are not triggering this cancer. Instead, I am Her2/neu positive.....in layman terms, that means that mine is the more aggressive type of cancer and will be treated with a once a week routine, instead of a once every 21 days routine. While that doesn't thrill me, it doesn't really surprise me. I told Michael that I fully expect God to send "big" trials our way. I figure that way, He'll get all that much more glory at the end!
3. I will have another out-patient surgery next Monday morning, in order to have the port put in for the chemo injections. The surgeon was really waiting to see what we decided about MD Anderson (they don't want ports). Since we decided against MD Anderson, we are go for the port. That is the last thing on the "to do" list, after the heart scan on Friday. Since my brother and sister-in-law will be in town this weekend through Tuesday, I asked the surgeon to schedule it as early as possible on Monday; he says I can go first. Told you they were accommodating!

So the rest of the week will be filled with "life" as we celebrate Meaghan's birthday tomorrow, jury duty on Thursday, a heart scan on Friday and getting ready for company this weekend. And oh yes, the Super Bowl is Sunday! I am looking forward to next week as it means the end of waiting to start treatment. Waiting gets old very quickly. As much as I don't look forward to chemo treatments and the accompanying disruptions in life, I would much rather do something than just wait.

posted by Kim @ 9:56 PM