Enough research for pre-med school!

"Lead me in the right path, O LORD, or my enemies will conquer me. Tell me clearly what to do and show me which way to turn." Psalm 5:8 NLT

I have spent the better part of the past two weeks doing more research and reading and talking with survivors. I feel like I have enough knowledge to begin medical school! Yesterday we met with an oncology surgeon who also does plastic surgery reconstruction (from UCSD-- I met her at the seminar I went to a couple weeks ago). She spent a great deal of time with us-- she agreed with my diagnosis and the treatment suggestions from my current doctors. She does think I have two choices here, both of them have the their benefits and downfalls. She explained those to us. It was very helpful! She was able to explain a bit better the anatomy of the ductal system of the breast and if I have one duct that has cancerous cells in it, that that duct may affect more than one 1/4 of my breast. (think of the ductal system like a canopy of a tree). That is what my doctors were concerned about when they spoke of it being "multifocal". So even if they get a clear margin, it is likely that there is cancerous DCIS cells left over-- but radiation and/or tamoxafin will kill them. Hopefully. When DCIS recurs though, it is usually from cells leftover in the breast, not from new cells.
She also explained that with mastectomy and DCIS, it is as close to curing DCIS as they can get. There is no other breast cancer that they can cure-- really. With a mastectomy, my recurrence rate would drop to the lowest percentage rate I could get. She also walked us through what recontruction might be like IF I chose to do radiation this time, but I recur and have to do a mastectomy down the road.
All in all the meeting was very insightful.
So tomorrow I go for an MRI (with my original doctor). I undertstand that the rate of false positives are very high, so I expect that they will find "things" that may show up even though they aren't anything. But since I am "high risk" now, my normal course of treatment when I have a mammogram will be to also have an MRI, so I figured I should have one now to see what it shows. After the MRI, if they see anything, they will order an ultrasound or another needle biopsy.
I will let you know what the MRI shows.
But I am feeling closer to a decision! I just want to get through the MRI before I make it final. Then I will pray a little bit more-- and talk it over with Bryan. Once we decide I will let you all know.
Thanks for hanging in there with me. It has been a much longer process than I had imagined it would be. But I am so glad I have taken the time to really understand this disease and the options I have. And how God has wanted me to handle it.
Have a wonderful week!