Calling ... Dr. Hagans

BC SURGERY

Well I'm glad to tell you that I got the dreaded first visit over with the breast surgeon yesterday and it was a positive experience. Here is what the doctor said: I am a very good candidate for lumpectomy surgery or breast conservation surgery. I will go to Little Rock Sunday and I will have the surgery at 7am, have a bone scan, CT scans and some lab blood work and then I'll be able to go home. The lump and some of the lymph nodes will be remove and will be tested for cancerous cells. If the nodes are positive or there are any other signs of cancer I will need to have chemotherapy treatments of some kinds depending on a lot of factors. If everything is negative I will have localized radiation treatments only to the breast for a period of 6 weeks 5 days a week and the treatments are only 5 minutes and I can do the treatments here in Batesville. I'll know the day after my surgery if I will have to have chemo and when I go bad to have drain tubes removed after a week chemo will be discussed with my surgeon and an oncologist. Whether I have chemo or not I will have radiation.

I LOVE Dr. Hagans!!! He said as the cure rate between a full mastectomy and the lumpectomy is 4% which just means that much difference in the cancer returning. He also said that it is possible that the lab who diagnosed my cancer as grade 3 (fast growing) could possibly be wrong and I could be a lower grade cancer and this would be determined after the surgery. At this point he said it was not accurate to stage the cancer but my tumor is about 2 cm and if he had to guess he would say it is between a stage 1 and 2 with 0 being the lowest and 5 being the highest stage. He told me that I am in his hands now and he was going to take care of me and was very positive.

My friends Angella and Brent with me, Brent drove thank goodness because it starting freezing rain on the way home and it took us about 3 hours to get home from Little Rock which normally only takes about an hour and half.

Well there ya go that's my news so far... Stay tuned for the next episode...same station...times will vary!!!! LOL and thanks so much for your thoughts, prayers, encouragement and well wishes.