The Oncology Consult...

Today, I met with my oncologist. It was a stereotypical doctor's visit. Scheduled for 11:00am, I arrived at 10:45 but didn't see the doctor until well after noon. Sound familiar? Sound like every doctor appointment you have experienced? But that being said, I really like this doctor. She was completely open and above board about everything and was willing to answer any question I had. There's a slight downside to my doctor - she'll be out on maternity leave for 3 months starting in August - right in the middle of my treatment.

Here's the lowdown on today's consult:

There were two different tumor board reviews of my case. One at Beth Israel Deaconness and one at the local hospital here in Newburyport (Anna Jaques). I am a popular patient! Both boards agreed that they weren't actually certain that the lung nodules were a result of the endometrial cancer, but perhaps they stemmed from the breast cancer from 5 years ago. Although how it would have gotten to my lungs, when the lymph nodes were clear, is confusing. To be certain as to which cancer caused the lung tumors, the doctors want me to have a lung biopsy. There is also a possibility that they are fibrous tumors. Wherever they came from, it doesn't change my course of treatment, but it is something that they need to know.

There are a total of 5 visible nodules. Three in the right lung; the largest being 1.2 centimeters and two in the left lung; the largest being 0.9 centimeters. Once the biopsy happens - sometime in the next week and the results get back to the oncologist (a week after that), she'll have a better understanding of which cancer is the culprit. After that, I will start chemotherapy - I am assuming it'll be in 3 weeks.

My chemo treatment will consist of 6-8 sessions and will utilize two different drugs (Carboplatin and Paclitaxel). It will be very similar to my breast cancer treatment in that I will get infused once every three weeks. Halfway through the treatment, I will have a rescan of my lungs to see if there have been any changes to the tumors. If they have shrunk, I will finish the course. If nothing has happened or they've gotten larger, then they'll find a different treatment (perhaps a clinical trial). Of course, being the realist that I am, I asked her about the worse case scenario: "What if nothing works?" The answer: my life expectancy would be 6-10 months.

Now neither she nor I will think that will happen, but it was something that I needed to know. That about sums up the cancer news of the day. Stay tuned!