1:18:13 ... maybe a little longer than 8.5. Today was the first day I have actually run a honest pace. I double sport-bra'd and let it go. It felt pretty good! So ... I have not updated you on my final surgical results because things are pretty complicated. My surgeon asked for a closer look at my pathology because he wasn't sure that the original results were consistent with the biopsy, MRI, ultrasound and mammogram results. In the meantime, I also called a friend and colleague from Vanderbilt University (where Dean I were before we were at U of Utah) - she is a breast pathologist and agreed to do a second opinion on the pathology. The lab here called yesterday and said they sent the biopsy slides from March but couldn't send the surgical slides because they had already sent them out the Mayo Clinic for a second opinion. Apparently there were some sections on the margin that showed atypical cells, but they weren't sure they were cancer, or just pre-cancer. That means that even within the same darn lab they can't get consistent results!!! My pathologist friend said that it means they probably did not take a sufficient enough number of sections from the final lump of tissue they took out (5.8cm x 4cm x 1.3cm -- obviously they can't look at 1,000s of slices, so there is quite a bit of possible variation in which parts they look at under the microscope). I don't think I will need a second surgery at this time -- meaning that I don't think the margins are "dirty" - but this is not completely clear. I have my follow-up appointment with my radiation oncologist this coming Tuesday, pretty sure she is going to recommend radiation ... I am about 90% I am not going to do it. It means I will have 20% chance of recurrence over the next 10 years (1:5) -- but I have done a lot of research and, to me, it is a risk I think I can live with. But, I will listen to what she has to say. Unfortunately, there really is no evidence that original tumor size has anything to do with recurrence risk ... they haven't yet found the definitive marker for which people are more likely to recur -- although, statistically, because I am young, I have (hopefully) many more years of follow-up which (of course) increases the chance of more ... This whole thing is exhausting. But, I am lucky, it could be much worse. I miss you guys, I miss running.
I am healing really well. If you stared at my chest enough you could tell that I have had surgery -- but, I am pretty good at "faking" it anyway (since I am pretty small ;-) ). All and all I am pretty happy with the results. I have a pretty gnarly scar (about 2.5 inches long) - the stitches are all on the inside, and the outside was super-glued with some heavy plastic covering that is sort-of coming off. The funniest thing about the visit with the surgeon was he looked at the scar and then said, "you know, you can put neosporin on that". HMMMM? I thought, "what do you mean, do I need to put neosporin on it?" is it infected? Surgeons are pretty funny. He then said, ok, see you in 3 months. I guess he doesn't really have anything else to say about treatment -- his work is to cut, and then follow-up after my mammograms. I have a mammogram in July (???) and then an MRI in October. Sounds like whether I have radiation or not, I can't get away from these doctors ;-)
On another note ... you know how I talk about the River Trail? Well, here is some interesting history that is potentially interesting to some of you on the blog, apparently, one of the earliest settlement communities along the river were LDS ... I will think reverently about this the next time I run by!! Happy Thursday bloggers!
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