Just a (relatively, for me) quick update. I was so annoyed with all the weird feelings inside the bionic breast that I called to see if I could get in to see the plastic surgeon sooner than my Thurs appointment. They fit me in this afternoon (Monday). Turned out I had quite of bit of fluid accumulated outside the expander implant and that was causing some of the discomfort (but not the weird feelings).
The doc removed about a half-cup of fluid from below the implant. And that really helped a lot. I hadn’t been sure whether I was really feeling more discomfort or if the burning from the tape adhesive previously had distracted my attention from the discomfort in the breast itself. With the fluid gone, a lot of the discomfort was gone too.
However…he also pumped up the implant quite a bit more. So it isn’t making as many of the creepy sensations (I told the doc they’re like hitting-your-funnybone weird), but now the muscle is a bit sore because of the increased pressure on it. Theoretically, as it stretches, it won’t hurt so much. I feel it everytime I take a breath. Actually, it hurts less, or not at all when I sit up straight, which I need to do anyway. So that’s a win-win deal.
Now the right breast is bigger than the left one. But it’s good that it’s stretching this much already. It means we should be able to get the whole reconstruction done before the end of the year.
The new breast still feels a tad bit weird, so I may try wearing a bra even when I’m at home to see if that external pressure helps relieve the creepiness. Fortunately this is only a 2-month process. The doc assures me the silicone implant will feel very soft and natural.
I got a call from the general surgeon just a little while ago. He got the pathologist’s addendum to the confusing earlier report that made it sound as if the cancer was all over the breast he removed. Her addendum says that the total amount of DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ) was 1.5 cm in diameter, and the two spots of invasive cancer were inside that 1.5 cm tumor.
That’s a tremendous relief in that it tells me the scans accurately estimated the size and extent of the cancer in that breast. That also tells me that when all those same scans found nothing unusual in the other breast, they can be considered pretty accurate in that finding as well. It doesn’t mean there aren’t tiny tumors too small to see with any of the tools, but there was nothing the best instruments could detect at this time.
The doc also said that the tumor was HER2/neu positive. That means the tumor cells are more aggressive. It also means that they would respond to a chemo drug like Herceptin. However, like a lot of these drugs, Herceptin has some hefty potential side effects, the big one being congestive heart failure.
I don’t know what the oncologist will say, whether he’ll recommend my taking Herceptin. But I will decline. Since all the known tumor cells are theoretically gone now, the drug would be given on the premise that there might be bits of cancer that got away or formed independently. Using that logic, I should take every known drug and chemo agent and nuke my whole body in case I have some bits of cancer elsewhere.
The information about HER2/neu is good to have, tho, for future reference. And I hope I will never have to use it.
