For those of you that wanted an update....
Last week, my entire family went to see the surgeon with my mom to discuss the options as far as treatment goes for my mom's breast cancer.
The consultation went really well. He answered all our questions and seemed very optimistic. He said my mom's cancer is not an aggressive cancer and her tumor was small (1.8mm). Her hormone levels were favorable, so the cancer was not caused or increased in size due to hormones so that is good. He said her chance of cure is 95%!
Also, he didn't seem very concerned about the lymphodema. If you are just catching up on this story, this is a condition my mom was born with and it makes it near impossible to fight infection. She has lymphodema in her legs and I think maybe that is why it is not a huge concern. The cancer is in her breast, not near her legs, so it should be okay.
Yesterday, my mom and sister went to the oncologist to further discuss what she should do. My mom decided to do the balloon treatment. In this treatment, they put a water filled balloon into her breast, where the lump was, and for 5 days in a row, they directly insert the radiation into the balloon. This surgery is tomorrow!
So my mom's surgery is tomorrow, and on top of inserting the balloon, they are going to take a little more tissue out where the lump was just to make sure they got it all and some. And they are also going to remove one of the glands in her armpit to make sure the cancer has not spread.
During the consultation, the oncologist did a quick examination and felt her underarm and he said that it felt good and that he doesn't think it has spread but that he can't be 100% sure because sometimes they can be microscopic. He said he thinks there is about a 30% chance that it has spread.
Our family is feeling a bit more optimistic about this after talking to the doctors but we are not out of the woods yet. We need to get through this surgery, radiation and make sure it has not spread.
So, if you could...keep my mom in your thoughts and prayers.
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