Ok, so I'm a bit calmer now.....

A really nice nurse called me tonight.  Her position is called a "Nurse Negotiator" and she is a cancer survivor.  I feel bad for her in that I pretty much vented my frustration.  She was incredibly kind and helped explain what most likely will be happening in the next few months.  While I HATE to wait, HATE to delay, HATE the unknown, I feel FAR better knowing what could potentially be going on in the next weeks and months.

Here's what most likely will happen......it will take around three weeks to get into the oncologist, be sent for further testing to determine if cancer from the lymph nodes has spread anywhere else (this most likely will include blood work, a bone scan, and CT scan)  It also may include genetic testing because of family history of cancer and the fact that our mother had breast cancer at age 29.

After all the test results are back in we will most likely start chemotherapy. It usually means one treatment every two weeks over the course of two months.  (I'm not yet reading about what this involves because I don't want to freak out over yet another thing.)  After chemo is finished depending on the results they may continue for another round or try something else.  It will be at least two months but could last four months.  Then I would go back to the surgeon for surgery.  Depending on the results of genetic testing which could take 2 - 4 months to come back, surgery may be more or less invasive than originally planned but we'll think about that later!

So, it looks like three weeks before any treatment will begin, at least two months of treatment, and then surgery after that followed by radiation.  Should be all done and cancer free by summer.  I certainly don't want to mess up my summer vacation!!!  How's that for positive thinking???