The pathology report is still not fully complete. However, some very important and positive information was available.

-There is no evidence of cancer in the lymph nodes closest to the tumor. So this means that the cancer I had or have is contained in my breast. This also dropped the likelihood of my having chemotherapy down some more.

-The margin (width) of healthy tissue surrounding the tumor was good.

The unknown:

There are 2-3 additional areas of atypical lobular dysplasia (ALD). My understanding is that ALD are markers for cancer. There is a chance that these areas are cancerous, the non-invasive kind (stage 0), called Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS).

The long and short of this is that I may have to have another surgery. If the areas are DCIS (a kind of stage 0 cancer) and if one or more of these areas is too close to the edge of the tissue that they removed in surgery, I will need another surgery to take out more tissue. This does not likely mean the need for a mastectomy, just another lumpectomy.

Apparently, my tissue is hard to interpret (I have dense tissue) so the pathologist is consulting with two more senior pathologists to get their opinion before the final written report is available.

Dr. Beatty said it could be another week until it is completed but he will call as soon as he knows anything.

In sum, the cancer battlefield has gotten smaller, but they are still trying to figure out the number of ground troops that The People’s Republic of Cancer has hiding in there.

In the meantime, I am celebrating the lymph node news and distracting myself with other things.