[TiffanyS]

I went to the hospital yesterday for treatment, and I met with a new Fellow from Princess Margaret, who will be working under my doctor for a little while, and he was wonderful. For the first time since I was first diagnosed I got a doctor who answered all of my questions in a clear, straightforward manner, and he didn’t tell me that I was cute or funny for asking my questions, which my oncologist does, and I find to be condescending. I hope he’s placed at my clinic for a while, as I would like to see him going forward. He was very knowledgeable, and explained things to me that my doctor was always in too much of a rush to answer. I asked him about getting a PET scan, and he advised that in Canada, they only do PET scans for people with colon cancer, and for people who they know has cancer, but they can’t find it with other scans. PET scans use a special dye that has radioactive tracers that are injected into a vein and absorbed by your organs and tissues. When highlighted under a PET scanner, the tracers help your doctor to see how well your organs and tissues are working, and light up cancer. The problem with PET scans is that they also highlight anything else that’s inflamed, so that they are not always accurate, and, they give off twice the amount of radiation as a CT scan, so they don’t like to give them often. He also answered a lot of other questions, and told me that he thought it was great that I was so knowledgeable and that it was empowering. I think my oncologist is used to dealing with people who don’t want to know anything about their condition or medication, etc, and just do what they are told, and she doesn’t like it when I ask her too many questions. Anyway, based on his explanation, I decided not to pay for a PET scan.

He also told me that the only way to know for sure if the pimples on my chest wall are cancerous is to do a biopsy. He advised that he didn’t want to biopsy the area using a needle right now, because if it is cancer, it could seed the cancer, causing it to spread. He said they could cut off the pimples to have them tested, however, he doesn’t want to do that while I’m still on chemo. He said that once I’m done with chemo, we can reevaluate whether to biopsy the area. In the meantime, he told me to keep an eye on them, and to advise them if they get any bigger. If they don’t get any bigger, they could just be scar tissue or dead nodules. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see, regardless of how stressful not knowing is!.


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12/15 – First mammogram
01/16 – Second mammogram and ultrasound.
01/16 – Meet surgeon and go for third mammogram, second ultrasound and biopsy. Surgeon confirms cancer in left breast and lymph nodes and sets surgery date.
01/16 – Chest scan and bone scan done– all looks good.
02/16 – Surgery - left breast mastectomy and 16 lymph nodes removed (8 had cancer).
02/16 – CT scan done – small nodules on lung but Doctor advises it’s post surgical. They will continue to monitor just in case.
03/16 – Meet radiation oncologist and find out results of Pathology Report. I’m told that I have locally advanced breast cancer, based on the size of my tumour (7 cm!) and the fact that they found cancer cells in eight lymph nodes. I’m also told that I’m HER 2 positive, with high levels of estrogen and progesterone and that my cancer is stage 3, grade 2.
03/16 – Meet oncologist and am told that my cancer is actually grade 3, and that I should have done chemo before surgery. Too late now!
03/16 – Start first of six doses of chemo (Carboplatin and Docetaxal) and Herceptin (for 18 months).
04/16 – Have port put in.
04/16 – Get second dose of chemo, but Docetaxal is left out due to liver enzymes being high. I was unable to get a full dose of Docetaxal after my first treatment.
06/16 – Finished chemo! One month off and then I start radiation.
06/16 – Start Tamoxifen.
07/16 – First radiation treatment – 24 more to go!
08/16 – Went for Genetic Testing to see if I have the BRCA gene. Tested negative for BRCA I and II
08/16 – Radiation oncologist biopsies “scar tissue” on my chest wall. I am told that I have a local recurrence and need to have rush surgery.
09/16 – Meet surgeon who advises that I need to meet with a plastic surgeon, as they will need to do a skin graft to close me up after surgery. Meet plastic surgeon and all looks good. A surgery date is set for October 4.
09/16 – Go for rush ultrasound, bone scan, breast MRI and CT scan.
09/16 – Meet oncologist who advises that the ultrasound and bone scan results look good, and that MRI shows three small masses at surgery site, but lymph nodes are clear. Still awaiting the results of the CT scan, but we are positive it will look good.
09/16 – Get a call from my oncologist, who advises that CT scan shows small spots on my lungs, and a large lymph node in the middle of my chest. This means the cancer has spread! She looks into getting me funded for TDM-1 and cancels my surgery.
10/16 – Meet oncologist, who advises that I have to take Perjeta before I can take TDM1. I start Perjeta/Herceptin every three weeks for an indefinite amount of time, and Taxol, which I will take two weeks in a row with one week off and then two weeks in a row for 8-16 treatments. Stop Tamoxifen.
10/16 – Meet surgeon, who reviews my CT scan and advises that the spots on my lungs may not be cancer, and that he doesn’t see a lymph node in my chest. He thinks it’s a spot on my lung. I’m feeling very confused! He advises that my oncologist doesn’t want me to have surgery to remove the three small masses on my scar line, as she wants to use them as a way to determine if the treatment is working. He advises that if they have not shrunk in 6 months, he will revisit surgery.
10/16 – CEA blood test to determine Tumour markers. Results were normal (2.7). My doctor advises that this could mean two things: (1) that the treatment is working, and the tumours are shrinking, or (2), that I'm one of those people who never get elevated CEA levels. Given that some people never get an elevated CEA level, this test doesn’t seem very accurate to me! Asked for PET scan, but am told I don’t qualify.
10/16 – Brain MRI – NED!
11/16 - CA-15-30 blood test – Tumour markers are normal at 19.
11/16 – Second CEA blood test – Tumours markers are still normal at 1.6
11/16 – Second CA-15-30 bloot test – Tumour markers are still normal at 19
11/16 – Develop lymphedema and have to wear a sleeve
12/16 – CT Scan shows that the tumors on my lungs and the lymph node in the middle of my chest are shrinking, and that some have resolved. Also, the small masses along my scar line are no longer visible. This means the medication is working!
12/16 – Small “pimple” shows up where old tumour on chest wall was located. Doctor is going to monitor it for now.
01/17 – A second “pimple” shows up on chest wall, as well as a small lump under the skin. My doctor thinks it’s scar tissue and will monitor it for now.
03/17 – CT Chest scan scheduled to see if there’s improvement to chest and lungs. If results the are good, I get to stop taking Taxol!
03/17 – Second brain MRI scheduled