Oh forgot to mention - the cat scan results are in and there is no sign of any abnormalities in my chest, abdomen, lungs, liver, pelvic area, etc.....
Obviously - very good news! One never knows what they might find if they are looking!! :)
Some discussion on why chemo first:
There is no conclusive evidence of decreased chance of recurrence with chemo before surgery or after surgery. The researchers theorized that this may be true - but so far - the decreased chance of recurrence is equal with chemo pre-op vs. post-op.
The reason we are opting for chemo first is because my tumor is so large, and grew large quickly - they worry that it may try to spread to other parts of my body quickly. Luckily - there is no sign of it in my lymph nodes, but they are not convinced that there are not microscopic cancer cells that they cannot detect, in my lymph nodes. So - the best prevention of spreading is chemo. In addition, the chemo will shrink the tumor, allowing for a more successful surgery.
A lot of people are interested in this subject, because most breast cancer survivors they have talked to have had surgery first, then chemo.
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