Declaring War Against Breast Cancer
Today, Dr. G mapped out my plan of attack. Based on all of the testing that has been done so far, this is his recommended course of strategy for my War with Cancer:
Battle 1: The Chemical War Offense– Considering how large my tumor is, Dr. G has recommended that I begin chemotherapy. As soon as possible. This will hopefully achieve 2 goals: A.) Shrink the tumor in my breast such that I will be able to have a lumpectomy instead of a mastectomy. B.) Immediately stop the cancer from spreading through the rest of my body. This battle will be the hardest. I will have to endure one cycle of chemo every three weeks. I will lose my hair. I will be very sick. I will suffer many unpleasant side-effects. But, like all wars, I may have to suffer through some “losses” (i.e. my hair, my energy) in order to win the battle.
Battle 2: Operation Surgery– Assuming that I win the first battle (and I will win the first battle) my next course of action is to undergo surgery. I will hopefully be a candidate for a lumpectomy. With a lumpectomy, only the tumors will be removed so that I won’t have to lose my whole breast. I may also have to have the lymph nodes removed from under my armpit.
Battle 3: Nuke Any Possible Survivors– After I recover from the surgery, I will undergo 6 weeks of radiation of my breast. The radiation will “sterilize” my breast tissue by killing any miscilaneous microscopic cancer cells that may not be visible at the time of surgery. This will reduce the possibilty of the cancer returning by a considerable amount.
Battle 4: Sanctions Against the Enemy– Cancer violated and invaded my body. Now I will starve and kill the cancer. A Hormone Receptor Test (this is a test that was performed on the sample taken from my biopsy) has shown that the cancer takes signals from and “feeds” off of my body’s estrogen. Hormone Therapy (a pill taken every day) will block the estrogen in my body and “starve” any cancer cell that may be in my body.
Timing is of the essence, so Dr. G has requested that I meet with my Chemo Oncologist, Dr. N, today.
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