Flying High!

As mentioned in the previous post, we were planning to get the pathology report detailing Jodi's cancer yesterday, but after a long day of waiting we called the surgeon to find out that she doesn't share pathology results over the phone. Fortunately, she was able to get us in this morning....but we had to endure another night of the waiting game. At first, we were worried that maybe the results were so bad that the surgeon would rather talk to us in person, but after a few minutes we resolved to enjoy the night knowing there was no sense in beating ourselves up over something out of our control. We went on a great walk with Jodi's brother Ed, who is in town from Los Angeles, to Grant Park, Buckingham Fountain, and Millenium Park to clear our mind...it was a beautiful Chicago night. Although Jodi was a little sore during parts of the walk, taking a two hour long walk around downtown Chicago was a huge accomplishment for her. She is healing wonderfully.

We woke up this morning feeling good...it is tough to explain, but we just had a feeling that we were going to hear manageable news this morning. As it turns out, we were right! The surgeon told us that the pathology report was much better than she expected after completing the surgery. In total, she removed 15 lymph nodes, only 2 of which were cancerous!! Jodi and I were prepared for the worst and could barely contain our excitement when the surgeon walked us through the pathology report. Here are the specifics:

• Stage 2b. This is on a scale of 0-4, 4 being the most serious. We had ourselves mentally prepared for Stage 3 so we are thrilled with this.
• Two tumors in the left breast - one was 2.7 cm at it widest part, the other was .7 cm at its widest part. 2.7 cm is a not a huge tumor, but isn't small.
• The margins around the tumors came back clear. This is a good thing...it means that the surgeon removed both tumors in their entirety.
• The tumors were both estrogen positive, which means Jodi's estrogen levels are what drives her tumor growth and the spread of cancer cells in her body. This is good because there are chemo drugs available that can suppress the effects of estrogen on cancer cells
• Radiation may be used in addition to chemo, but isn't a sure thing given that Jodi had less than 4 cancerous lymph nodes.
• Given that Jodi has 2 infected lymph nodes, there is a good chance abnormal cells have moved within her body, but the surgeon indicated that it is highly unlikely that other areas (the brain, liver, lungs, etc.) have had enough time to metastasize, or develop cancerous tumors, based on the pathology results. Chemo should kill all abnormal cells that have spread to other parts of Jodi's body....hopefully before any further metastasis occurs. This is obviously very encouraging!

That is all I can think of at the moment...it is more than enough good news to pick us up from the occasional knock down. We will meet with the plastic surgeon this week to make sure Jodi's incisions are healing properly. We also have appointments scheduled with a medical onchologist to discuss chemo and a radiation onchologist to discuss the potential for using radiation in Jodi's treatment program. We will keep all of you posted. Thank you for your continued support...whatever you are doing is working!! :)

"It isn't our position but our disposition which makes us happy" - Anonymous