As of this writing, I’ve had cancer four times. First at age 47 with estrogen receptive breast cancer, then 19 years later with a recurrence of breast cancer diagnosed as triple-negative. I was given 16 rounds of infused chemotherapy (13 before surgery and 3 after), a port placement and removal, multiple blood draws, ultrasounds, MRIs, and surgery for triple-negative cancer in lymph nodes both under my right arm and between my pectoral muscles. Six months after my last treatment, I had another recurrence requiring surgery, followed by radiation and 11 months of oral chemotherapy. Eleven months after completing that course, a mass was found just below my right collarbone as well as a couple nodules in my right lung. The current course of treatment is a repeat of the oral chemo at a higher dose. Other treatment options are being explored. The diagnosis is Stage 4 inoperable, incurable TNBC (triple negative breast cancer).
Prior to getting any treatments, I did a lot of research into what options were available or recommended by various individuals. It’s the same approach I took in 1999 when I was diagnosed with estrogen-receptive breast cancer. Ultimately, that led me to UCSF and Dr. Leong and a sentinel node biopsy of the lymph nodes rather than an axillary dissection, which was the standard at the time. All my adjuvant therapies were at Redwood Radiology in Santa Rosa, California and included chemotherapy and radiation.
Below are lists of my caregivers and links to their bios as well as a list of all of the cancer-related procedures I’ve had since my cancer diagnosis in September 2018. There are also links and lists of other cancer-related information I feel is worth sharing.
My caregivers – 2018-2021
- Dr. Elizabeth Whipkey-Olson – personal physician – Baechtel Creek Medical Clinic
- Dr. Hope Rugo – oncologist – UCSF San Francisco
- Dr. Cheryl Ewing – breast cancer surgeon – UCSF San Francisco
- Dr. Jay Joseph – radiation oncologist – Providence Medical Group Ukiah
- Dr. Catherine Park – radiation oncologist – UCSF San Francisco
- Dr. Joanna Chensi Yang – radiation oncologist – UCSF San Francisco
- Dr. Hengbing Wang – oncologist – Adventist Health Ukiah Valley
My caregivers – 1999
- Dr. Stanley Leong – 1999 lumpectomy & sentinel node biopsy
- Dr. Helen Collins – 1999 oncologist & chemotherapy
- Dr. Ronald Van Roy – 1999 radiation oncologist
- Dr. Elizabeth Blount – 1999 personal physician
2021 Procedures
- PET/CT – February 23
- PET/CT (with contrast) & breast MRI – June 14
- Dexa scan – June 15
- PET/CT (with contrast) – October 4
- FNA (fine needle aspiration) – October 5
- Core biopsy with ultrasound – October 29
- CT (with contrast) – November 30
2020 Procedures
- Mammogram – January 17
- Breast ultrasound guided fine needle biopsy – January 21
- PET/CT – January 29
- Breast MRI – January 30
- Breast ultrasound guided magseed placement – February 5
- Breast lumpectomy – February 12
- Diagnostic mammography & mammogram – September 17
- Breast MRI – November 17
2019 Procedures
- Breast ultrasound and tumor sites clip placement
- Port placement – February 5
- Breast MRI – February 26
- Breast MRI – April 15
- Surgery – May 15 – five lymph nodes removed
- Outpatient surgery – July 22 – port removal
2018 Procedures
- diagnostic ultrasound
- core biopsy
- PET scan
- pelvic ultrasound
- Breast MRI – November 30
UCSF Appointments
Upcoming
- In office visit – Dr. Rugo – 12/28/21
Immunotherapy –
Anti-angiogenesis therapy
- Dr. William Li – Can we starve cancer?
- Eat to beat cancer – eattobeat.org
Traditional therapy – cut, burn and poison
Health information resources
Alternative considerations
lana has cancer 