Looking to compare

Today I have a breast MRI. Tomorrow I meet with my breast surgeon, Dr Wilke. The MRI will show what has changed since the MRI in early July. We will also discuss my surgery which will be in a week or two.

I learned earlier this week that I jumped ahead too quickly when I said chemo was done. I forgot the advice I got from the technician at my first MRI, "take things one step at a time". When my oncologist Dr Marcom said I should have surgery next, he was not saying that chemo was done.

The decision tree for breast cancer treatment is quite complicated. Dr Marcom is on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Breast Cancer Panel that made the decision tree. The pathology results will help decide if more chemo is needed. This is good. I still have lumps in both breasts. The pathologist will be able to tell if it is cancer or scar tissue or some other benign growth. If the chemo has not taken care of the cancer, more chemo is a good idea. It is best to wipe out all the cancer before it has a chance to start grow somewhere else.