Wednesday I get ALL of the news. The doctor will have all of the results back from the pathology of the liver biopsy and the pathology review of my original breast cancer, which they have now tested for HER2 (those are those little receptors that attach themselves to the breast cancer cell - breast cancer was not tested for it when I was originally diagnosed in 2003). So we will know exactly where we stand on the battle field.
The next step is to select the artillery we will use. I sat in on a webinar put on by the CBCN the other day on advanced metastatic breast cancer. I was very happy to learn that treatments can be very specific and targeted based on all of the information collected on the breast cancer cells you are dealing with. The newest treatments are less toxic than chemotherapy of yesterday and are having remarkable results.
The goal is to treat the cancer like a chronic disease like diabetes. It may not be curable but my quality of life can be maintained and survival extended.
Now my personal goal is to extend my life beyond my oncologist's retirement and given he looks like he is ten years old that is a really long time.
Yes - I can!!
