posted Friday, 8 July 2005
I don't have a full copy of my pathology report, but i spoke to dr d today... here's the latest...
- the margins of the tumor appear to be clear (this is a good thing)
- in the surgery, they took out a margin of tissue around the tumor, to "make sure they got it all". the pathologist examines the tissues all around the edge to make sure there are no cancer cells. if they find any, they may need to do a re-excision or mastectomy (aka - more surgery)
- the tumor is estrogen receptor positive (er+) (this is a good thing)
- this means that my breast cancer cells have estrogen receptors. Breast cancer cells that are ER+ depend on estrogen to grow.
- Anti-estrogen hormonal therapy (like tamoxifen) blocks the receptors or reduces the amount of estrogen that can get into the receptors. As a result, the cancer cells may shrink or die.
- the tumor is her-2/neu negative (this is a good thing)
- HER-2 is a gene that helps control how cells grow, divide, and repair themselves. The HER-2 gene directs the production of special proteins, called HER-2 receptors, in cancer cells.Cancers with too many copies of the HER-2 gene or too many HER-2 receptors tend to grow fast. They are also associated with an increased risk of spread.
- there is a new drug (herceptin) that works well against this type of cancer, but since mine is negative, we don't have to worry about it!
- HER-2/NEU: http://www.breastcancer.org/her2_status.html
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