I took my neighbor with me today to see the results of last week's CT scan. The spot in my right lung is still there and maybe, but very slightly maybe, a little larger than it was in my end of July scan but smaller, definitely smaller, than it was in my spring scan.
My advocate neighbor asked why they didn't want to take a sampling of cells and the doctor said that because it was too small to see on an x-ray, it would be difficult to get cells from the spot and very uncomfortable and expensive to get information that we already know (that it's breast cancer).
Then she asked him why he didn't send me along to one of the two or three places in Japan where they could treat me with protons to zap the stuff in my lung for good. He replied that my case would not pass the eligibility requirements as breast cancer in a lung is not so life threatening as lung cancer in a lung.
Then she asked if I should go back on chemo right away to deal with it. He reiterated the need to balance cancer management through vigilance and hormone treatment with blasting cancer with possibly debilitating treatments and that I should expect to be watching and treating for the rest of my life and that my current condition was not especially drastic or immediately life threatening.
We asked for records for me to take with me for a second opinion and he was very encouraging about any actions I might take to be reassured or to help me make decisions on how to manage my cancer. I'll go back next week to pick up the records and he'll send my request form from his hospital administration to the hospital of my choice (the National Cancer Center) to get the ball rolling. My neighbor will also call the National Cancer Center and try to get me seen by her specialist, the head of respiratory and breast oncology (I think it's actually two departments that he heads) when he returns from a symposium in the States.
In the meantime, I continue with the daily toremifene tablets and feel fine enough. I guess living with cancer is better than not living with cancer but still feel that living without cancer would be best...
My advocate neighbor asked why they didn't want to take a sampling of cells and the doctor said that because it was too small to see on an x-ray, it would be difficult to get cells from the spot and very uncomfortable and expensive to get information that we already know (that it's breast cancer).
Then she asked him why he didn't send me along to one of the two or three places in Japan where they could treat me with protons to zap the stuff in my lung for good. He replied that my case would not pass the eligibility requirements as breast cancer in a lung is not so life threatening as lung cancer in a lung.
Then she asked if I should go back on chemo right away to deal with it. He reiterated the need to balance cancer management through vigilance and hormone treatment with blasting cancer with possibly debilitating treatments and that I should expect to be watching and treating for the rest of my life and that my current condition was not especially drastic or immediately life threatening.
We asked for records for me to take with me for a second opinion and he was very encouraging about any actions I might take to be reassured or to help me make decisions on how to manage my cancer. I'll go back next week to pick up the records and he'll send my request form from his hospital administration to the hospital of my choice (the National Cancer Center) to get the ball rolling. My neighbor will also call the National Cancer Center and try to get me seen by her specialist, the head of respiratory and breast oncology (I think it's actually two departments that he heads) when he returns from a symposium in the States.
In the meantime, I continue with the daily toremifene tablets and feel fine enough. I guess living with cancer is better than not living with cancer but still feel that living without cancer would be best...