Counting Down
I have marked up my calendar with important stuff leading up to my surgery on the 28th. Today I am to stop taking any NSAIDS. Those are any pain relievers that thin the blood, like Tylenol and Aleve.
I learned from my doctor last week that heat can help the hematoma to shrink. I've been using heat and there is less pain from the pressure of the mass squishing all the area around it. I tried to get a clear answer about how big Lumpy is, but I think the doctor thought I was asking what "10:00" and the numbers I pointed at on the paper that I thought I was vaguely gesturing at meant. She said the 10:00 is the position and the two measurements were the distance between Lumpy and my chest and my nipple.
I understand that is how they locate it in my breast. I did not learn Lumpy's size though. I looked again at the radiology report after the ultrasound when they measured it. I asked them how big Lumpy was then and was told it's hard to say because it's not exactly round.
I found the measurements in cm on the diagnoses and Google sent me to the Mayo clinic website. From there I was able ascertain that Lumpy is about the size of a grape. I wish they would use examples of things that don't vary. Do they mean a little red table grape, a bigger green grape, or a big honkin Concord with seeds and all?
Can someone who speaks Cancer break this down for me? It sounds generally positive in tone.
"Spindle cells are variably positive for SMA with focal weak expression of P63 and ER. Spindle cell proliferation is negative for PR, Her2, CK AE1/AE3, CAM5.2, CK7 or CD34. SMA and p63 highlight intact myoepithellial layers surrounding DCIS."
I know that last bit means there's kind of a "skin" around it that is intact. I asked my doctor if puncturing it to take a biopsy might help the cancer get out. She said that it's not impossible, but so very rare that the risk to benefit of getting a biopsy or not makes it a worthwhile risk. She reassured me repeatedly that it is an extremely rare thing.
Here are some pictures of my garden from today.
