And so it is

First of all I've changed the settings so that anyone can leave comments - apologies to those who had to create an account to leave a message.

I had my final appointment/scan today. The MRI scan was fairly straightforward, if not particularly enjoyable. I got some good and bad news regarding Vicky. I need to make it clear, though, that in terms of prognosis the bad news only has a very marginal negative outcome - it really doesn't make a huge difference. But I got upset when I heard it, as did Mum, so it's important that I make this clear. The bad news is that it is a grade 3 cancer, which means it is an aggressive form. I had been told by the breast consultant that it was a grade 2 tumour but my oncologist informed me that it was grade 3. Another possible bad news is that it tested positive for high levels of HER2 receptors. HER2 is a protein found on the tumour which is bound by another protein (known as a human epidermal growth factor), thereby enabling cell division and growth - basically bad news. However, it means that I'll be prescribed Herceptin, a drug which effectively binds to the HER2 protein and stops the growth factor from attaching to it. In addition, Herceptin attracts immune cells to help destroy cancer cells. All in all, this is more accurately neutral news. On the positive side, there are several items of good news. First, my bone scan came back clear and although it is not 100% certain yet it appears that my lymph nodes are also unaffected. The other tests also showed no abnormalities. But best of all, my tumour cells are both oestrogen and progesterone positive. It does mean that I'll be getting hormone therapy for 5 years but it also means that the risk of the cancer returning is reduced by about 50% (according to what I've read so far). My oncologist was certainly "glad" (in these circumstances) to get such results.

So now I wait for chemotherapy to start on Monday. I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried. When signing the consent form this morning I was given the full list of possible side effects. These range from the well documented nausea, fatigue and hair loss, to the less known but possible development of leukaemia, though the risk is limited to 0.1 to 0.2%. The benefits far outweigh this risk. There is also a 50% chance that I'll become infertile. Overall the treatment looks like this:

1. Chemotherapy - This aims to shrink the tumour as well as reduce the risk of the cancer returning. The tumour is reduced in 80% of cases and actually disappears completely in 10% of cases. The remaining 10% of cases see no change or an increase in tumour size. There are two phases. First, I'll get two drugs (adriamycin and cyclophosphamide) administered every three weeks for four cycles, then I'll get four cycles of another drug (Docetaxel).

2. Surgery - This will obviously remove the lump and possibly lymph nodes.

3. Radiotherapy - I might not need this step.

4. One year of Herceptin (through injections I believe) and five years of hormone therapy.

I'm off to enjoy my last few days free of treatment. I hope you are all well.

And thank you for the comment you've left - I'll try and respond soon.