Pathology report

I know that I've already written today, but it seemed like too much to include the findings of the pathology report in the previous posting.

After the surgery, everything was sent to the lab where further biopsies were taken. The doctor fully expected that the results would be in on Tuesday-- but they weren't in. Her office staff have called me every day with the same refrain, "The results still aren't in." Dr. Reading called me herself about 6 p.m. this evening when they finally arrived.

Since nearly every test, except for the initial biopsy of the two lymph nodes, has failed to clearly establish that I have cancer, I've been wondering what the final results would be. I must admit that I have even wondered if the delay was because the doctors didn't want to have to tell me that I didn't really have cancer after all. I began to wonder if the initial biopsies were wrong-- and that I really was healthy.

Rest assured, I really and truly do have cancer-- and they are fairly certain that it's breast cancer. The surgeon removed 13 lymph nodes and 3 of them were definitely cancerous. What she also found (yes, even the pathologist is a woman) was that I did have cancer cells diffused throughout my left breast-- but they were tiny cells, the largest being 1.7 on whatever scale they use to establish size. It's because they were so tiny that they weren't showing up in the other tests-- but they were pervasive.

The other strange thing was that the cancer cells found in the breast did not match the cancer cells found in the lymph nodes. So she conducted additional tests to determine whether I had two different kinds of cancer, or if it was a single cancer with designer ambitions-- i.e., it had multiple "looks." She tested the cells from each location to see how they responded to various hormones, etc. Ultimately, she concluded that it was a single cancer because the cancer cells responded in identical ways.

Superheroes are willing to go the extra mile-- they aren't afraid to push themselves as they seek for answers to important questions. In this case, my life has been blessed because a caring pathologist took the time to come to a conclusion about my cancer. She had to have known that there were lots of us waiting to see her report, what kind of pressure might that have put on her-- the pressure to produce results. But, she was willing to hold back on delivering results until she was satisfied that she had an answer worth delivering. OH, how very, very grateful I am for her consideration, knowing that I would rather have the best answer she had to offer and not have to settle for just a good answer. Thanks!