Today's Results
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
This is Randy posting again. Kathy got an early start this morning and underwent a PET scan. This test checks to see if the cancer is active anywhere else in the body such as the brain, liver, major organs and bones. While we were waiting to see the doctor regarding the PET scan, we met with the nutritionist that reviewed Kathy’s diet and what she would need to eat to supplement the next round of treatments. The discussion went well and CTCA provided a very good notebook with lots of good dietary information.
The good news is that the PET scan did not show that the cancer had spread. There was evidence though of cancer in the hilar lymph node to the right of the heart. The doctor said that this would respond to the chemo therapy. As for the chemo, we decided with the doctor that Kathy would be treated with a combination of carboplatin/taxotere. To minimize the side effects, the chemo will be administered in more controlled doses over Thursday, Friday and Saturday and steroids will be used to control the side effect of swelling in the legs. The doctor is very confident that the chemo treatment will be effective. The first chemo will be tomorrow and then another one will be scheduled about three weeks later. We asked about the classification of Kathy’s cancer ( Stage III or IV) and Dr. Citrin explained that inflammatory breast cancer has a special classification. Officially, Kathy’s cancer is referred to as T4dN2M0. The T generally refers to the size of the original tumor, but in this case it indicates inflammatory breast cancer. The N refers to the state of the lymph nodes in the region of the cancer and the M refers to whether or not the cancer has spread or masticized to another area. So for Kathy the T4d means inflammatory breast cancer, the N2 refers to the fact that 9 of the 10 lymph nodes had evidence of cancer when checked during her surgery and the M0 means that it has not spread.
In preparation for the chemo, we met with the surgeon, Dr. Sanchez who will be installing a chest port tomorrow. The port goes under the skin and connects to a large vein right beneath the collar bone. It is a dual port which allows two things to be administered simultaneously. The port is about the size of one of those jelly packets that get you get in restaurants and is made of soft white plastic. The doctor and nurses explained everything in great detail.
Tomorrow we will need to arrive around 10 AM. Kathy will not be able to eat or drink until after the surgery, which is scheduled for 3:30 PM. There is a good chance that she will go in before that. The chemo will start after Kathy recovers from the surgery. She will be admitted for 23 hours after that and will spend Thursday night in the CTCA hospital.
This is Randy posting again. Kathy got an early start this morning and underwent a PET scan. This test checks to see if the cancer is active anywhere else in the body such as the brain, liver, major organs and bones. While we were waiting to see the doctor regarding the PET scan, we met with the nutritionist that reviewed Kathy’s diet and what she would need to eat to supplement the next round of treatments. The discussion went well and CTCA provided a very good notebook with lots of good dietary information.
The good news is that the PET scan did not show that the cancer had spread. There was evidence though of cancer in the hilar lymph node to the right of the heart. The doctor said that this would respond to the chemo therapy. As for the chemo, we decided with the doctor that Kathy would be treated with a combination of carboplatin/taxotere. To minimize the side effects, the chemo will be administered in more controlled doses over Thursday, Friday and Saturday and steroids will be used to control the side effect of swelling in the legs. The doctor is very confident that the chemo treatment will be effective. The first chemo will be tomorrow and then another one will be scheduled about three weeks later. We asked about the classification of Kathy’s cancer ( Stage III or IV) and Dr. Citrin explained that inflammatory breast cancer has a special classification. Officially, Kathy’s cancer is referred to as T4dN2M0. The T generally refers to the size of the original tumor, but in this case it indicates inflammatory breast cancer. The N refers to the state of the lymph nodes in the region of the cancer and the M refers to whether or not the cancer has spread or masticized to another area. So for Kathy the T4d means inflammatory breast cancer, the N2 refers to the fact that 9 of the 10 lymph nodes had evidence of cancer when checked during her surgery and the M0 means that it has not spread.
In preparation for the chemo, we met with the surgeon, Dr. Sanchez who will be installing a chest port tomorrow. The port goes under the skin and connects to a large vein right beneath the collar bone. It is a dual port which allows two things to be administered simultaneously. The port is about the size of one of those jelly packets that get you get in restaurants and is made of soft white plastic. The doctor and nurses explained everything in great detail.
Tomorrow we will need to arrive around 10 AM. Kathy will not be able to eat or drink until after the surgery, which is scheduled for 3:30 PM. There is a good chance that she will go in before that. The chemo will start after Kathy recovers from the surgery. She will be admitted for 23 hours after that and will spend Thursday night in the CTCA hospital.
posted by Kathy Holleger @ 5:03 PM
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