Pathology results are in....

I met today with my surgeon. She had the pathology results from my mastectomy and went over them with me. Here is what I understood: there was a tumor of 2.4 cm that had tendrils going into the skin, the nipple and the blood vessels to the lymph nodes, all of which we either knew or suspected. One of the many lymph nodes they removed under my arm had tumor cells in it. The margins looked good, which means there was no cancer spreading into the edges of the tissue they removed. The surgeon was not alarmed by any of this. I will go over it again with the oncologist in 2 days, but here is what I gather at this point. Mastectomy was the right call (I am not surprised). Radiation is clearly called for. Since they did not remove any of the lymph nodes above my collarbone that were cancerous (at least before the chemo) and one lymph node still showed active cancer, blasting the entire area with radiation might kill any cancer still in those local lymph nodes. Of course, since the lymph system is all connected, we can only hope that the chemo or my immune system killed any cancer cells that escaped beyond the local area, or that none had escaped. My good pet scan results seem to indicate reason for optimism. So listen, it's a bummer that they still found active cancer cells. It would have been awesome to find nothing left. But there is no reason not to be optimistic. There is no doubt that I responded extremely well to the chemo. I am clearly healing well (she was delighted with how my incision and area around it look.). Besides, there's nothing to be gained from worrying, except when it motivates me to take really good care of myself. So here's what that looks like: I have stopped consuming dairy products, because I find the epidemiological evidence that groups who consume no milk (the Chinese) have almost no breast cancer to be compelling. I am continuing to take large doses of vitamin C and niacin. I am also getting lots of sunlight and uv lamp exposure when it's rainy in order to produce lots of Vitamin D. I am eating a diet of primarily vegetables, fruits, complex carbs and some animal protein. No added sugar and not too much fruit. Steve and I are still reading to come up with an optimal diet that is also enjoyable. Lots of theories out there with often conflicting advice. What everyone agrees on is veggies are good for you! I'm still regaining strength and getting my lungs back on line, but exercise is going to be hugely important. Steve is excited to help me get into great shape without trashing my crapola joints. So onward we go. I may have more info after meeting with the oncologist on Wednesday, which I'll share then. Looks like radiation will start in 2-4 weeks from now, and Steve will be traveling, so I may go spend some time with my folks in Connecticut. The only problem is they don't have a sun porch! Hoping to visit with some old friends if I'm up there. You can all admire my salt-and-pepper crewcut!