Update here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1146&pid=3982

I so hope it's not anything.
Let us know what you find out!

The trigger for the visit (that could have been extremely aggressive) is almost certainly a non-issue.

But - the preliminarly imaging they did to rule out aggressive causes turned up a 5 mm tumor (in the opposite breast from the cancer I just beat). To quote Gilda Radner, "Well, Jane, it just goes to show you, it's always something — if it ain't one thing, it's another."

The characteristics of this tumor are indefinite - parts of it look like cancer; parts of it don't. Biopsy a week from Friday, after 3 days of diving!

Update here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1146&pid=3982

Please report back as soon as you can -- you deserve this vacation!
I myself am waiting to hear when radiation treatment will start, but now we have to be alert for a hurricane. Ugh.

Update here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1146&pid=3982

And - FYI - The doctor declared the state of the recently radiated breast remarkable. She would not have known I had just had radiation, except for the medical record in front of her.

Not the overwhelming, get in here this week if you don't want to die within a year, damn that I was afraid of.

The new tumor is about 1/3 the size of the cancer I just kicked to the curb - and it may not be cancer. Lazy, teeny, cancer I can manage. After I go diving!!!

That can be good or bad.

What triggered the visit was symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer (without looking at the figures, somewhere around 50% fatality within 2 years).

What they found (because the visit triggered an earlier than usual look) was a teeny tiny tumor. 2 mm x 4 mm x 5 mm. As long as it's the same kind that runs in the family, it's barely a speed bump. (Based on characteristics - elasticity, vascularity, borders - it's about a coin toss for cancer v. not.)

But NO inflammatory breast cancer. Whew!!

So - I'm off diving; the reward I had planned to give myself in August for losing 74 lbs and beating back diabetes - until cancer popped up and interrupted things. 3 dives in so far - up to a dozen more.

I'll take my camera down tomorrow afternoon and see what I find. (I think I remember you from the photography group? - I haven't had time to do much photography so I pretty much dropped out.)

How are you holding up?

I'm doing ok. Had some bad days, some good days. But I see progress

Please share the photo.

but glad it is 'a speed bump.'

I cannot imagine a more healing process than to do what you enjoy, please post some pics when you have time.

Pls. share how your are doing.

I was totally amazed that I went from shock at finding a bad lump to deciding in just a few days who I wanted as a surgeon,
to mastectomy, a word I could not even spell, but 3 weeks later being very comfortable with making post operation treatment decisions after educating my self in cancer treatment
plus getting help here, and then, on my own, finding a very cheap way to get horrendously expensive drugs.

So I hear you loud and clear about been there, done that and now vacation comes first.

Vacation was fantastic! I'm now back and trying to catch up. I had been working really hard prior to the new symptoms to make sure I left for vacation ahead of schedule on things I needed to do, but that fell apart when I needed to do more research and squeeze in doctor appointments.

But I did manage to put work and medical things out of my mind for 6 days

Monday I have a biopsy and start the waiting game for the results. The odds are about 50-50 that it will be cancer. Again. But if it is cancer, it is likely to be the relatively benign kind I've already put in the rear view mirror.

I'll update once I know the results!

when the ultrasound tech, calling to make sure everything is good for Monday's biopsy, recognizes you since it has only been 5 months since the last (pre-treatment) biopsy.

Wish me luck for Monday. As near as I can tell, chances are about 50-50 that it is malignant. I don't have a strong sense (I did last time), but I'm leaning slightly toward this one being malignant, also.