Diagnosis

I am not the first and I will not be the last to be diagnosed with breast cancer.  I do not even have a very advanced form of breast cancer.  But regardless, it is a disconcerting world I have entered, and I need to find purpose and calm in the storm.  If this blog/website can help others as they navigate their journey, I will feel there is some purpose.  

​The calendar year 2017 had not closed yet when I was told I had stage 1 triple positive breast cancer.  My mother had survived cancer twice in her lifetime, so the word "cancer" did not have the same horror that others might experience.  But being who I am , I started researching.  I made sure I was using legitimate and authoritative sites.  This kept me away form the horror stories and complete and utter panic.  I learned very quickly that the stage of the cancer does not mean the treatment is any less or easier.  It is the markers (triple positive) that determines the treatment recommended.  The positive estrogen and progesterone was a good thing, because it is very responsive to hormone therapy.  But the HER2 positive meant I was going to need Chemotherapy.  So although it is stage 1 and very contained, my treatment plan based on the biopsy would be lumpectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation; so the whole nine yards.  Once the lumpectomy is complete, they will test the tumor and lymph nodes to confirm the diagnosis, but I am told that it is not likely to change dramatically.  So I plan for the worst, hope for the best, because hope is not a strategy.