We Can Beat This

The technical diagnosis of my biopsy is Grade II infiltrating ductal carcinoma with a Bloom-Richardson total grading score of 6 (tubules 2, muclei 2 mitoses 2). There is focal ductal carcinoma in situ of high nuclear grade with focal central comedonecrosis and lypmh-vascular invasion at the periphery of the tumor. Results on the the paraffin block submitted for receptor panel essay shows I am ER positive and and Her2 negative.

Being the extremely nosy sort and wanting to know as much as I can, I have been doing research on the internet so that I can translate the diagnosis into lay terms. That it is high grade means it is an aggressive form of breast cancer. The term lymph-vascular invasion indicates it has spread, at least to some degree, into my lymphatic system. We won't know if lymph nodes are affected until they do surgery and further tests. ER positive means the cancer is dependent on estrogen and when I figure out what Her2 negative means I'll give it a mention.

What is certain is that I will be undergoing surgery for either removal of the lump or of the entire breast; I have a lot of decisions facing me but I am told I have time to do my research and ask questions. This seems such a daunting task and I am ever so grateful I have someone near and dear to me to help me cope.

Awareness of breast cancer  is all around us nearly every day. The ubiquitous pink ribbon can be seen on lapel pins, jewelry, bumper stickers, t-shirts, coffee mugs, you can even get a pink ribbon tattoo. We all understand the meaning of that pink ribbon; most of us know someone who has had breast cancer or lost a loved one to the disease. We can probably even give a fair estimate of what percentage of woman will eventually be diagnosed with it. We sympathize, empathize, participate in fundraisers, pray for those who have it and thank God it hasn't happened to us.

The truth is we chose to believe it will never happen to us.

But, it did happen to me. Today I learned that I have invasive breast cancer.  12 hours later I am still in shock - nothing can ever prepare you to hear the words "You have cancer".