Yes, It's More Than DCIS

Oh the waiting!  Waiting for the surgical pathology was forever.  I knew it would take at least a week, but the final few days of waiting took forever.  I didn't want to miss the call either.

From the beginning I wondered if the lump was more than DCIS and this pathology confirmed that it was, inside the 1.4 cm area of DCIS was a .6cm area of Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC).  This was potentially a game changer.  With DCIS, I hoped to return to my life...with invasive cancer, I knew I would need more consults and possibly chemo.

This was when it really began.  Many women have a defining moment when they are told, you have cancer.  I never felt that I did.  It was nothing, then something, then something more.  But even with a six millimeter area of invasive cancer, I was in the grey area of what to do.

Once again I set up multiple appointments with medical oncologists.  I was somewhat surprised that each one recommended some sort of chemotherapy.  My options were the standard Ardimyacin with Cyctoxin followed by Taxol and Herceptin (AC + TH), or a newer option that proved to be less heart toxic Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin (TCH), or a minimalist option of Taxol and Herceptin.

Chemotherapy was recommended due to the fact that I was under 35 and the characteristics of the cancer were more aggressive.  Because so much of my world at that point was babies and pregnancy, I thought it was interesting that in the cancer world, 35 is so young.  In the pregnancy world, 35 is old!  I was 34 and thoughts of more children danced in my head, not wanting to prematurely wean my child, and just wanting to be a mom to care for my children.

After much deliberation, I decided to go for the chemo:  twelve weeks of Taxol along with Herceptin.  Then Herceptin would continue for another three to nine months.