Oligometastatic

I went to the lung doc today and it was like having a glass of cold water thrown in my face. Reading that oligo is somewhat controversial and not all docs or cancer places are buying into it is one thing but having a surgeon pretty much tell you that to your face is quite another.

Made me wonder why the onc sent me to her. I had thought they had already talked but apprently not. he set the appt up for me. I spent 20 minutes giving an oral history to a resident before the surgeon came in. She very bluntly said "I am not sure what it is you are seeing me for today. I have a call in to your onc to discuss this". I told her my impression was this was supposed to be a meet and greet because I am still getting chemo. She said she could not understand why lung resection would be indicated for a stage IV BC when the cancer would be likely to come up somewhere else. Then they knocked on the door and told her my onc was on the phone. When she came back to the room she was a little more amenable.

She is very young and is the chief of thoracic surgery of a major university hospital. Since there are so few people labeled oligo she probably hasn't seen one. I thought I would blow her away with my good health and enthusiasm----didn't happen. We left it at I will finish chemo and have mx then they will scan again. She did say if surgery happens it is very possible that her and the liver guy could do their surgeries together.

I see the liver guy tomorrow. Hope he isn't the same wet blanket!!

 So much for oligometastatic. I wish I had never heard the term!! False hope for a cure-I should have known better. I understood "cure" to mean my chances would then be the same as someone who had just cancer in their breast. The onc has been pushing this at me since my mid-chemo scan. WE would do surgery and I would then be cancer free.

   If anyone reads this I hope they won;t take this the wrong way. I have news that most Stage IV would kill for. My mets have shrunk to a level that they are considered inoperable. I saw both a lung and liver surgeon this week and they concur. I am 4 tiny pinpoints away from being cancer free-instead I will be waiting for them to grow-and possibly spread. Onc says WHEN they grow not IF. Scans every 3 months-also now going to be doing brain and bones.

No NED-no peace of mind-that is if any Stage IV gets there. I had amajor meltdown in the lung surgeons office today. I have an onc visit tomorrow that I may just skip til I can get some control over my emotions.

  I am getting my head adjusted and hearing stories like these sure help. I did see my onc yesterday and as soon as he opened the door I started crying again. I told him my goal was never to see him again. He laughed and said "We are as good as married. You will never be rid of me;" I told him i realize that and that is why I am crying!!

   He sadi why ruin a beautiful fall laying in bed recovering-it will grow back and we will do this next year in the winter. I guess he thought all of this would cheer me up but what cancer patient wants to hear "it will grow back". It isn't that only but the thought that things might break loose and end up somewhere else. And sice i will now be adding bone and brain scans to the regular CT makes me think he is thinking the same thing.

  I will be on Herceptin only and starting Rads in Sept. I am not a candidate for RFA because my tumor is next to or attached to the vena cava,

laurie and christi-I hope yu are NED forever and I hope I get to join you there. My cancer trip has exceeded all expectations in response and I have had a very easy time of it thruout so onward,,,I am actually going to lunch today with Marybe and at keast 8 other Cincinnati BC ladies from this site. If anyone knows the ins and outs of long term treatment it must be her. Lunch with 9 ladies-we have never met, spoke, or even know each others name. I expect I will come away with a better attitude.

Again, thanks for sharing your stories. I did not want to post on Stage IV stuff because it seems like so many have had a bad sumer as far as progression ect. I feel embarassed that I couldn;t be positive about having tiny cancer.

 Both surgeons agreed that trying to find something that small would be impossible. They are convinced it will be better to wait. Surgery will cause scar tissue and make going in later more difficult or impossible. I have to trust their judgemnet and that of my onc. The lung lady would not be my choice but the liver guy would not be saying this if he didn't  think it was best.

   So on to Rads which I was going to have to do anyway. Trust in God and herceptin that maybe they won't grow. Onc says do not give yourself false hope on that score. Getting easier to accept and most people just think that it is a positive that i will not be having sugery. I am not going to explain the implications.

Everything sound good=so happy for you. It didn't work out for me but I still believe that it can happen