Post-Op and MRI

This morning was my post-op appointment followed by my MRI this afternoon.  The post-op went well.  I am healing nicely and have been released from restrictions.  That means that I can finally get back to exercising.  Now I still need to take it a little easy and not do anything that is going to pull on the under arm incision, but things like crunches and some weight lifting will be fine.   I will probably hold off on any yoga or aerobics for another week until I get more of a range of motion back.

We did learn that the tumor was much larger than we originally thought.  We also learned that I had both invasive cancer (which we knew) as well as cancer that is in situ, which basically means contained in the duct.  However, at this time there is no indication that the cancer has spread from the breast and the sentinel lymph nodes were clear.

We still do not know whether or not I am HER2 positive or negative, it is still coming up as equivocal.   More than likely the medical oncologist will need to send the tumor out for further testing to determine.  Here’s a link to an article on HER2.  If I am HER2 positive, I will more than likely need to do a round of chemo at the start of treatment for it.

The MRI actually wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be, and I could have probably managed it without taking anything ahead of time.  For a breast MRI, you actually lie face down with your arms above your head.  Your head rests in a headrest that reminds me of what they have at spas for massages.  So really, as long as you don’t think about being in the tube, even if you open your eyes you can’t really tell.  It was very noisy and the occasional movement made me a bit motion sick.  All in all though, it wasn’t bad at all and took less than a half an hour.

At this point, we are still in a holding pattern.  There are still a lot of unknowns, and it will take a few days to get the results of the MRI in.  I also need to switch surgeons, as my doctor is now a few days past her due date.   I have two picked out, and am comfortable with either of them.  They are both very experienced.