update

So, I had my first official appointment at the Cross Cancer Institute today.  How nervous was I? Extremely. However, the appointment went better than I thought it would.  The doctor (who is a radio oncologist) told me that there are a lot of unknowns right now. I have a CT scan booked for February 22nd and that will tell us much more about what is going on. Because I don't have a lot of pain in the rib area (it comes and goes and really is never that bad), she will wait on doing any radiation at this point.  One very important piece of news is that my abdominal ultrasound came back clear! I instantly relaxed after I heard that! (As did my husband).  She also said that the 'spot' on my skull vault could be something other than a spread of the cancer. She said a lot of 'weird' things tend to show up on these bone scans. If they decide after the CT scan that I need to have those two spots biopsied, then we can go from there. IF cancer is found, they could just prescribe a pill called Letrozole.  Letrozole decreases the amount of estrogen the body makes and helps to slow or reverse the growth of breast cancer. One very good thing she told me is that women have lived for many years while on this drug. 

So, I am very happy about the ultrasound and very relieved that this appointment is done. I feel a lot better about everything. I am going to be 'cautiously optimistic' at this point. I won't really know anything concrete until sometime around February 24-27th...after the scan and once my doctor has looked at the results.

Again, I can't say enough about all the support I have had from my wonderful family and friends. It's been the toughest month I have ever been through and I thank them all for their love. So, onward to the next appointment on the 22nd and I guess we will see what we will see.