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To talk of Ports, and markers and DIEP
Hi everyone, I have been lurking occasionally. Busy teaching and learning. I have a few questions.
The good news is that the PET I had in November was good. I was scheduled to get my Port out. When I saw my oncologist he told me that he would rather I waited because my tumor markers were up. My tumor markers have been up before and nothing changed in my PET scans. Anyway, I am waiting and he is testing again at three months and six months. Then with any luck, I will get my port out.
My real question has to do with DIEP reconstruction. I am planning on scheduling it in July (that's when I am not teaching) and I know there can be a long recovery. I hurt so much after my mastectomy that I swore that I would not do this but I do not like wearing a prosthesis and I have noticed that I have been less active because of it. What is it really like, what kind of recovery time did you have, do they work on the other breast at that time, whendo they do the tattoos, etc.? I have spoken to the surgeon but I didn't think to ask him everything. It is scary.
Leslie
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In the world of destiny, there are no statistics.
Jan. 26- mammogram and ultrasound- suspicious lump
Mid-February- lumpectomy, infiltrating ductal carcinoma ~4.5 cm and a 1 cm DCIS, did not get clear margins, did not check lymph nodes
ER+/PR+, her2 +++, nuclear grade 3 of 3
February 20-PET scan showed something on liver. No biopsy.
March- Started carboplatin, herceptin, taxol on a four week cycle
May 3- Pet scan, with intent to do a biopsy, found nothing, liver or breast- no biopsy because there is nothing to biopsy
June 21- new onc, very concerned that there had been no biopsy,
June 18th-CAT scan, bone scan-negative
August 7th - Brain MRI-negative
August 9th- mastectomy, all pathology negative
January 2008 still NED! New oncologist -herceptin for full year after chemo- until July, and tamoxifen---negative scans since May '07
July 2008-Finished Herceptin!
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