Day 19 | Post-Surgery Recap: Healing and Planning

I underwent surgery on Wednesday, December 14th. 

• The lumpectomy showed a 2.4cm tumor, excised with clean margins. 

• The full lymph node dissection, removed all 12 lymph nodes from under my left arm. Six showed cancer. 

Post-surgery, they have staged me at 3A. (If you're interested, learn more about staging.) They are going to do full body scans to see if it's anywhere else (lungs, liver, bones). Stage 3 sounds pretty scary, but stage 3A is early in the 3s, so it’s unlikely to have spread.

Here is my likely chemo schedule:

Chemo round 1
  12 weeks, four treatments

• 1.11
• 2.01
• 2.22
• 3.15

     <<break>>

Chemo round 2
  12 weeks, 12 treatments

• 5.17 
• 5.24
• 5.31
• 6.7
• 6.14
• 6.21
• 6.28
• 7.5
• 7.12
• 7.19
• 7.26
• 8.2
• 8.9
• 8.14 (maybe)

I’ll finish chemo here if the cancer hasn’t spread!!!! More “maintenance” chemo will be required if it has. 

Radiation will then start - it's unclear now for how long, but it seems like it will be targeted at the left breast and underarm because of the increased lymph node activity. It should last about 30-45 days, and may be administered daily. It is likely to end sometime in October.

Hopefully then, there will be no more cancer. I will be checked every 2-3 months for two years and then every 6 months till year 5. Then, annually forever.

If there is an infection or something goes wrong, they will push me back. But hopefully will go along swimmingly.