But how serious is it? and how will it be treated?

I should have put this one earlier. Ah well. The pathologist labeled this cancer at 3 out of 3 for "aggressive." Now, that said, I should also repeat what I've said in a comment to my own previous post: I should assure you that my ultimate prognosis is very good. An average of 2.3% of women my age will die of various causes within 10 years -- the average number of women with my cancer and these treatments who die is about 7%. So, yes it has gone up, but it still seems pretty darn good. I mean, over 10 years a lot could happen!

The cancer was small, less than 1 cm (.9 cm), which is a good thing. However, it had already spread into one lymph node, so that's a bad thing. People who know about cancers will know what the following info means (if you don't, it basically is a more technical way of saying "aggressive.") Estrogen positive, progesterone negative, HER-2-neu negative.

Because the cancer is aggressive, the oncologists all agree I have to go the full nine yards (a nautical term for putting all your sail yardage out): chemotherapy, radiation, and hormone therapy. Now that the "findable" cancer has been removed from breast and lymph nodes, I can move on as soon as I am well. It turns out that radiation and chemo both target "fast growing cells" which is what healing cells look like too. So, I have to wait until I am all healed up from the surgeries.

The chemo will happen first, once I get started it will be 4 treatments, 3 weeks apart. Probably my hair will fall out -- it does for the majority of patients. Most people say that the first 2 treatments were not that big a deal: feel crummy for a day. Later treatments can be expected to knock me out further. A treatment is basically sitting in a chair for 4 hours while poison drips into your system. (Can you tell I was hoping to avoid chemo?) It makes you better by killing any possible remaining cancer cells; unfortunately, it's a blunt instrument and your body is made entirely of cells, so you see the problem.

After chemo is done, at this point that will probably be mid-January, I will start radiation treatments just on the breast. Those are 5 days a week for 7 weeks or so, but only last about 30 minutes. So, you just "fit that into your life." If I can get those scheduled for right after I drop the girls off for school that might work OK. Here's an amusing (or disgusting) thought: radiation is what we use to cook things -- so my breast will end up a bit like a medium-well steak. In fact, some patients report that their breast is now sitting a little better -- like how a steak shrinks up and firms up when its cooked. Unfortunately, they don't do radiation on the other side just for symmetry...

Then, finally, I get to take hormone/estrogen blocking pills for about 3 years I hear tell. Hard to believe. Although I am already post-menopause, my already-detestable fat cells are seeping estrogen into my system. (For most of you women, that's actually a good thing, the only benefit of fat cells to the modern woman.) So, I get to go through menopause AGAIN, with teenagers this time! Really, sometimes life is SO UNFAIR! I guess I didn't suffer enough the first time. Certainly not as bad as many women have told about, no hot flashes, and since I was already going through a divorce I thought the rages were natural.