Meeting Dr. Q (oncologist)

On November 9th we met with Dr. Quesada for the first time. He reviewed my pathology reports and walked us through them step by step. I appreciated this so much as he didn't talk "doctor speak" to us. He told us exactly what each item meant and the application of it to the cancer. Here is some of the technical information for those of you that like to research.

I have infiltrating ductal carcinoma (IDC) in my right breast. I also have areas of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). The IDC is the scary one as it is on the move. The DCIS is cancer, but it is still contained in one place and not spreading. Other pathology information--the cancer is:

IDC-high grade (this means it is aggressive and growing quickly)
Estrogen Receptor: Positive
Progesterone Receptor: Negative
GCDFP: Negative
E-Cadherin: Positive

As of this report my lab work is still pending for my Her-2 results.

We discussed the preliminary attack plan. He said due to my age and the size of the tumor (approx. 4 cm on palpitation) he feels that we will do chemotherapy first to shrink the tumor. I will then have surgery to remove the remaining tumor (lumpectomy). Radiation and possibly more chemo will follow the surgery. He said I will meet with a surgeon and then they will talk to discuss the best course of action. He scheduled some more tests to have run before I meet with the surgeon.

We left his office feeling very confident in his abilities and very positive about my prognosis. We don't know how my cancer is "staged" yet, but Dr. Q feels good that we caught it early and will beat it.