After receiving the biopsy report that Dawn Ann was positive for breast cancer, we met with Dr. R, the breast surgeon the next day.
The doctor's office was extremely busy. Each of the doctors there specialized in cancer treatment of some kind. One of the other doctors specialized in melanoma. As I looked into the faces of the people waiting there, I knew that cancer had touched each one of their lives. You could see the worried looks on their faces.
Virtually no one was there alone. Whether they were there for melanoma, or for breast cancer they had a spouse or someone else with them. This is a very good thing. No one should have to face a this life-threatening disease themselves.
The going was slow in the waiting room. We arrived at 12:45 PM. Our appointment was at 1:00 PM, but we didn't actually get back into an exam room until close to 2:30.
After we got to the exam room, a nurse came in and asked us if we knew the results of the biopsy. Apparently some patients are sent there with their radiology films and pathology reports, but without being told what the results were. I thought that was a little odd. I'm glad the Women's Center let us know right away.
After waiting another half hour in the exam room, we finally met Dr. R. She is a slight woman, in her late forties to early fifties. We talked about the results of the biopsy.
The kind of breast cancer Dawn Ann has is called DCIS - or Ductal Carcinoma in Situ. We learned that of all the types of breast cancer one can have - this is the best one to get (as If there is a best kind of cancer to get!) You can see an example of DCIS microcalcifications here.
From the mammography, and the pathology report, it was determined that the cancer was present only in the milk ducts, and appears not to be invasive. That means that it likely has not spread outside the milk ducts into other parts of the breast, or to other parts of her body. If left untreated, this kind of cancer could eventually become an invasive, life threatening type of cancer.
The doctor reassured us that no one dies from DCIS - which was quite a relief. In our case, the pathology report indicated that the aggressiveness of the cancer cells were at a low-to intermediate grade - which is an indication of the risk of the DCIS turning into an invasive form of cancer.
As far as treatment options go - it appears that mastectomy will be required. Since Dawn Ann has DCIS in two different quadrants of the right breast, doing a lumpectomy would not be prudent. Two lumpectomies, on the two different DCIS spots, would remove too much of the breast tissue to save the breast.
During the surgery, a dye will be injected into the breast. The purpose of the dye will be to determine the location of the sentinel lymph node. The sentinel lymph node will be removed and biopsied to determine if any cancer cells have entered the lymphatic system. If no cancer cells are found there, then it will indicate that the cancer has not spread beyond the breast.
The good news is that if the diagnosis is correct, that mastectomy should get all the cancer. Radiation and/or Chemotherapy should not be required.
