medical mumbo jumbo

So here's how it went at Doctor Warden's office today:
Generally good news. We knew that it was going to be either stage 2 or stage 3. She officially called it stage 2a on the right and 2b on the left. They treat it at the highest stage.

There was 1 tumor on the right, which was the largest of them, at 1.6 cm. There were 3 or 4 on the left (I can't remember which) that were smaller, which explains why they were harder to detect.

The one unpleasant surprise is that upon further examination, there were some cancer cells in the right lymph node. But all that does in terms of treatment is amp up the radiation a little bit. Because my oncologist is aggressive (my kind of gal), we were already doing that anyway. Not the end of the world. There were 3 positive lymph nodes on the left and 2 on the right. Doctor Warden indicated that it's best of there are less than 4 on either side, so that's good news.

I, of course, did a little google research on staging. According to the american cancer society (one of the few websites - am allowed to read from), the survival rates are 76 - 88 % for stage 2. I'm going to be aggressive in treatment and beat the shit out of this thing! I have to give it everything I've got, even on the days when I just don't feel like it. I don't think I have ever failed any test, or gotten below a B when I have really tried. So why should this be any different??

Oh, and we still didn't have the her2 results back yet. What a pain in the ass! I am so tired of waiting. This is what will determine my chemo cocktail.

Aside from all this, Dr Warden was pleased with how I am recovering. It's so funny to hear all of these professionals excited about my progress when from my perspective, it's way too slow. I guess I set my expectations too high.

And finally, today was my first day without a nap! I guess that's improvement, but now I am TIRED! Let's hope I pass out quickly.