Pathology report and post-surgery update.

Oh Happy Day!! We are all celebrating at the Wisnewski house!!!

*Picture taken by Sarah

My doctor called me this morning with the BEST possible news that any breast cancer patient could have possibly received. I am thrilled to tell you that my pathology report showed a few things… aka ONLY GOD!! Your prayers are working!!!

*I will edit this later to explain the “official” results from the pathology report when I get it, I was so excited talking to her that I couldn’t write it all down.

1. Cancer did not spread so it was localized only to my right breast, not anywhere near my nipple (which is also tissue that often has to be removed). Maybe TMI, but mine weren’t.
2. The tumor was only 6mm (originally the biopsy showed it being 1.5cm – about 50 mm) so basically it was tiny. This confirmed stage 1A Breast Cancer – the earliest possible stage of breast cancer (The type of cancer is the most common too- Invasive Ductal Carcinoma in situ) someone can get and it was caught as early as it possibly could have been by a doctor – I never felt a lump or anything. This was all seen through an MRI we decided to do (see my previous Cancer – Part 1 post specifically.)
3. The tissue in my left breast was all NORMAL! Although, we did decide on the Bi-lateral Mastectomy so all the tissue is gone, but to be cautious in case any other breast cancer ever tries to inhabit anywhere else, theres now a 2% chance that it will or can.
4. I had a Sentinel Node Biopsy done during the mastectomy on my right side and the cool thing was that my surgeon had a hard time even finding the lymph nodes because they were so small – they’re enlarged when cancer has spread to them. The results came back and the lymph nodes were all NEGATIVE meaning cancer had not spread to them.
5. This means… no chemo!! Praise the Lord!! *I forgot to confirm this with my surgeon. I’ll know for sure on May 17th after the oncotype, but I’m claiming it already. Its ok to be confident, right?!?
6. I will get an Oncotype report back by May 15th. Click on the link to explain what an Oncotype is, its really neat how much information it can tell you from the surgery. Pretty darn cool!

Prayers:

Pain – Thank you medical professionals for creating pain medicine!! Whew. I have experienced the most extreme pain of my life in the past week, but thankfully the pain meds and my husbands constant help and care have made it so much better. I have never been on pain meds before, but I am forever thankful they exist though very hard to get, even for me. You have to have a paper prescription, Dr can’t just call in refills – really stinks when said Dr. is 45 minutes away. — Anyway, please pray for my pain to consistently be managed and for me to slowly be able to wear off the meds – when I’m ready. I went to church yesterday, literally walked in, sat down, walked out and by the afternoon I was in the most pain I’v been in since last Tuesday. Lesson learned: stay put on the couch or in the bed!

Anxiety – The more my pain, the higher my anxiety climbs. Thank you for meds for this too and for my doctor to tell me to just take them! I MAY BE a bit stubborn. 😉

Sleep – Your prayers are working. Surprisingly for the extremely the light sleeper I am, I am sleeping as well as I can possibly sleep – practically sitting straight up! I’ll post more about this and whats been working for me soon. Its kinda funny that I’m actually able to sleep, but I feel very rested!

Steven and John- He is managing me and our two year old, rough, temper tantrum-throwing, but sweet and cuddly son. My in-laws have had them this past week and it has been a much needed blessing, but he’ll be back with us this week since we will have more help at home. Please just pray for Steven to be able to manage all of us and for John  to being to understand that Mommy has “boo-boos” and we have to be gentle with her. 🙂

Oncotype – that it will come back with great results that the cancer will have a low chance of reoccurrence and that the need for chemotherapy will not be necessary. All of this will be determined and discussed with my Oncologist at my first appointment with him on May 17th.

Oncologist Visit (Chemo, Treatment, and Future Babies) – My oncologist will help determine post-surgery treatment in regards to the path report and oncotype results. We will also discuss when we can start trying to have another baby and when I will begin taking Tamoxifen. In MY ideal world, I’d like to try for a baby now and hold off on Tamoxifen after we have a child. This will be discussed, but may not be a possibility – we may have to wait a year or two after being on the Tamoxifen. I will know more on the 17th.

Diet – I am continuing with a Vegan diet and it has been AWESOME!! The 14-15 pounds down isn’t so bad either. I will continue this for the foreseeable future because it just makes the most sense to try to continue being my best self and to not give cancer any environment in my body to grow or anything to feed off of it. Steven goes fishing in Canada every year with his dad and we have fresh caught Halibut and Salmon to eat. Obviously fish is not vegan, but I can’t pass up a prefect piece of fish that I love so much! So, I’ll incorporate that into my diet 1-2x a week. Also, sugar and wheat – I’ve said not to both of those too. BUT – R.Thomas Grill in Atlanta has an amazing “Vegan Cake” every week and I’ve treated myself to that and it was amazing. Also, the Thai Express bowl with tempeh (SO GOOD – although I’m having to limit my soy intake – post on that one day too!) I’m all about allowing a cheat meal here and there to control my need to make this a lifestyle rather than a “new diet.” BUT, all in all, I’ve pretty much committed to being ‘vegan’ although you probably won’t ever hear me say, I’m vegan. More “vegan” posts coming!! I’m so excited to share with you all that I have learned and how it has changed my kitchen at home, completely!

Leep Procedure – I almost forgot to mention this… I am having this done on May 12th. I’ve had 2 abnormal Pap smears come back in the past 6 months so my ob/gyn will be removing part of my cervix. Prayers that it will be quick and easy (so many people have already encourged me about this-very simple), that its NOT cervical cancer, and not too much of my cervix has to be removed so I can have future babies… yes plural! If you talk to Steven, he will say baby… jury is still out on this situation 😉

Lastly, I need to explain what it means to be cancer free… Technically, with breast cancer you aren’t in remission or “cancer-free” for 5 years. The Oncotype will tell us the risk of cancer reoccurrence in this time frame, BUT I am happy to scream, shout from the ROOFTOPS that cancer is NOT in my body according to my pathology report! There may be microscopic cells wandering around in there that could lead to cancer sometime in the future, but hopefully my lifestyle of healthy eating, consistent exercise, and continual communication and checkups with my doctors means that cancer is gone. FOR GOOD. OUT OF HERE!! I am HEALED. Thanks be to God, my Father, MY HEALER. He is worth of all the praise!!

I’ll be back sometime after the 17th to update on what my Oncologist says and treatment going forward. In the meantime, I hope to share some things on here that I have learned while being a cancer patient and what life looks like for me now. Thank you again for all your prayers and constant encouragement.

This has been a CRAZY ride the last 6 weeks. I never imagined I would be telling you so soon that I, 31 year old Carly, do NOT have breast cancer anymore!!!!

Check back soon!