Celebrate!!!

Today I went for genetic counseling at Moffit's  Screening Center. After drawing out my entire family tree, (kinda felt like I was in Kindergarden again) they came up with a figure that said I only had a 6.8% chance of having the BRC1 or 2 Mutated gene for cancer. WOW! Great odds for NOT having it, and that was GREAT NEWS!  That gene, if a woman has it, puts you at a very high risk for cancer of the breast and ovaries, and you ought to think about preventative surgeries to STOP it.  The actual test to find out if I am in the 6.8%  cost $3,000!! Not covered by my insurance either! A MEAN California company is the only company that has the "patent" to do the test and they can charge outrageous fees to do it! What a bunch a meanies!  They are beind sued for that.
There is one Dr. in Canada who performs the test for free if he accepts your app. We'll see what he says. I'd like to know either way because then I can make better decisions about future surgeries and my sisters will have a better idea of their predisposition to cancer too.

                                     But let me rush right into the good news about MOM!!!

At the "2nd opinion" appointment, we received the results of her breast MRI and yesterday's
 PET SCAN of the her whole body--- THEY WERE CLEAR!! The only cancer cells clustered and LIT up, were the ORIGINAL ones in her right breast and lymph node!
This is such excellent news! NO metastisis seen!
                           PRAISE GOD ALMIGHTY!

Her appointment was with Dr. Extremenn who is the lead geriatric oncologist at Moffit Cancer Center.  My sister Linda drove mom and I met up with them. When Linda got there, they had canceled her appointment!!! They thought since she was scheduled for surgery on Monday, Dec. 7th with Morton Plant's Breast Center, that she was not needing this appointment. Linda was stern and said,
                          "You put her back on that schedule, we came all this way!"
So by the time I got there, she was getting lab work done and everything was straightened out. One thing you don't do in our family is mess with our ma ma! OR-- face the wrath of her daughters!! LOL  Her pulmonologist found that out when she was hospitalized last year hahahahah

When Dr. Extremenn came in the room she exlaimed, "Ti Kanis!" to my mom and we all burst out laughing and speaking in Greek with her! Which was so funny because she only knew that one phrase, "How are You?" plus she was German with a strong accent -- I could not stop laughing!
She was great, explaining everything to Mom in an easy to understand fashion.
She said mom was doing the right thing having the surgery. And that a masectomy was recommended since the placement of her tumor was not in a great place for a smaller operation to be of any use.
 (no lumpectomy like I had. ) And a lymph node axillae dissection (all nodes out on that side.) She said that after mom's operation, that she could see her back at Moffit if she liked to discuss the results of the findings once the nodes were all tested and the tumor was tested. She said that mom was fairly healthy and with a few side diseases, (high blood pressure which is controlled now, COPD, and controlled high cholestrol) she should live another 13 or more years. And to stop the triple negative breast cancer from returning in that time period, Dr. EX said she would give mom Chemotherapy. A meal of chemo, but until results are back, NOT saying what would be in the meal, because that would be premature.
 MOM expressed concern that she had read in a book that people should not be heavily dosed with chemo because it's harmful.  Mom told Dr. Ex that they wanted to dense dose me and that she was worried about it. Dr. Ex listened with understanding and said that everyone's dose is different and that MY dose would certainly be more dense than hers since I have a lot of years to have recurrence.  UGH!!    LINDA brought up alternative and complimentary medicine and supplements. Dr. EX was open to it (Germany is a leader in that.) She said that her pharmacologist would look to see any contraindications with the chemo depending on the supplement.  WE LIKE THAT, BECAUSE WE'RE ALL ABOUT HERBS, SUPPLEMENTS AND THE PROVEN ALTERNATIVE/COMPLIMENTARY THINGS YOU CAN DO TO KILL CANCER THAT THE TRADITIONAL CANCER ESTABLISHMENT IGNORES.
All in all it was a great appointment!!!  I ran out to call ZOE as we had NO reception in there.
YOU CAN IMAGINE HER RELIEF AND JOY! WE ARE ALL CELEBRATING GOD'S MERCY TONIGHT! AND OUR FIRST BATTLES OF VICTORY WITH 
CANCER SCHMANCER!  NANNY NANNY BOO BOO!!!