News: Some Awesome and Some Mildly Sucktastic

I had my appointment with the oncologist, yesterday. As we hoped, all of the results are back. It is somewhat of a mixed bag. Here is a summary for those of you who know things about cancer.

• My oncotype DX recurrence score is 20.
• My 10 year distant recurrence rate is 13%.
• I am BRCA1 and BRCA2 negative.
• My chemotherapy benefit is calculated at 4%.
• My 27.29 score is 18.38.
• My Estrone is at 26 and my Estrodiol is at 48.

So, what does all of this mean? Well, I'll start at the beginning (and I'll rate the news in case you feel like making a chart of pie graph or something.) Here goes:

• The oncotype DX is the test that was done in California. It takes a very detailled look at my tumor samples to predict the benefit of chemotherapy and the likelihood that the cancer will recur within the next ten years. The score of 20 puts me into the intermediate risk category. (Moderately Sucktastic)
• My 10 year recurrence rate is 13%, which is higher than we had hoped. Using simple math (which I'm sure you are all capable of doing) I have a 87% chance of making it through the next 10 years without getting breast cancer, again. I am a little disappointed by this, because I had a double mastectomy. I would have thought that would play into this number, but it doesn't. As the oncologist told us, "surgery can never get out 100% of the tissue." So, we got the tumors, but there is still a tiny amount of breast tissue, like 3%. (Mildly Sucktastic)
• The two genetic tests that were done were BRCA1 sequencing and BRCA2 sequencing. They were both negative. This is great. It means that I am not at a 40% chance of getting ovarian cancer. It means that we do not know of a genetic reason (although there are other tests that can be done) to indicate that Laila, my mom and my sister are in danger. (Awesome)
• Using the information that we have from California, it is predicted that if I do chemotherapy, my chances for recurrence drop by 4%. Since this number is so low, and since chemo has so many side effects (including increased incidents of other cancers) it is decided that I will not have chemo. (Scary to not be as aggressive as possible, but Great)
• The 27.29 test is called the Tumor Marker. It isn't so much a definitive test as a baseline. We hope to see a number below 37, so my 18.38 is okay. We will be testing this each time I see the oncologist. If it spikes, that indicates that there is caner somewhere in my body. (I will give this a rating of Average on the suckometer.)
• Estrone and Estrodiol levels are within the normal ranges. However, since my tumors grow using estrogen, we hope for as low as possible. My oncologist said that levels are "not alarming, but I would like to see them be lower." So, ovaries out. Also, no egg freezing, which would increase the amount of estrogen too much. Also, it would be good to take out the uterus, as well, since the estrogen inhibiting medication causes an increased risk for endometrial cancer. (Vaguely Sucktastic, but not so bad.)

So, that's what we learned. Some decisions were made, yesterday, which I like. The next one to make is which doctor we use for the procedure. We have appointments this week to see a gynecological oncologist and one to see my regular gynecologist.

Stay tuned.