preliminary results

The surgeon just called with good news. The tissue surrounding the tumour that was removed is clear and there is no cancer in the lymph nodes. There still is the concern of the calcifications in the milk ducts and these have shown to be pre-cancerous. My cancer is both estrogen and progesterone receptor positive, so I am a good candidate for tamoxifen. 

Dr. Carr is going to discuss my case with the cancer agency in Victoria today with regards to my treatment plan, although he does still think I will need the full course of chemotherapy and radiation. The tumour itself is high-grade (because of the growth rate), but the cancer is considered stage 1. The staging could change based on the official results, but Dr Carr does feel confident in these preliminary results. 

The only thing I am waiting for is the results of the HER2neu (A positive HER2 test performed on a breast cancer means that the tumor has genes that are not normal. Cancers with too many copies of the HER2 gene or too much HER2 protein tend to be more aggressive and can be treated with an antibody to that extra gene's protein). 

The short version of this story is that I can keep my boob, but will still loose my hair. 

See below for an excerpt from www.breastcancer.org for a explanation of tamoxifen and estrogen receptors. 

Tamoxifen has very weak estrogen activity. When you take tamoxifen, it passes into your bloodstream, joining all kinds of hormones, nutrients, oxygen, and other molecules as it circulates through the tissues of your body. If breast cancer cells are present, tamoxifen flows around them as well. If these cancer cells have estrogen receptors (about two-thirds do), tamoxifen slips into the receptor "locks," filling up a space that would normally be taken by the body's natural estrogen.

Because tamoxifen is such a weak estrogen, its estrogen signals don't stimulate very much cell growth. And because it has stolen the place away from more powerful estrogen, it blocks estrogen-stimulated cancer cell growth. In this way, tamoxifen acts like an "anti-estrogen."

Tamoxifen may also take the place of natural estrogen in the receptors of healthy breast cells. In that way it holds down growth activity, and possibly stops abnormal growth and the development of a totally new breast cancer. By blocking natural estrogen from getting to the receptors, tamoxifen is helpful in reducing the risk of breast cancer in women at high risk who have never had breast cancer. It also can help women who have already had breast cancer in one breast by lowering the risk of a new breast cancer forming in the other breast.