Diagnosis...

The next morning, me, my mom, Lina and Auntie Geri met at my grandma's house before the appointment. My grandma decided to stay back because there were already 3 of us going. When we got to the office we tried to laugh and talk to keep our minds off of it. Auntie Geri kept asking if we were sure that we wanted to go in because we had to be strong for my mom. We insisted on all going in the office and we waited and waited. It seemed like forever before Dr. Park came in. The first thing he said when we walked in was, "Whoa, the whole family is here." We all laughed and my mom introduced us. He sat down and did not waste anytime to give the results. "The biopsy came back and it is definetely cancer." I immediately started crying. The doctor looked at me and told me to not cry yet but I couldn't hold it in. I went to sit by my mom, Lina just stayed quiet, Auntie Geri started asking questions and my mom just looked shocked. She asked what she had to do next and the doctor started explaining the basics. When he walked out of the office to grab some papers, my mom got off of the exam table and just started pacing the room, saying how much this sucked. None of us knew what to think or say. When Dr. Park came back, he gave my mom the pathology report, which stated she had invasive ductal carcinoma, grade 3. Ductal means the cancer is in the milk ducts of the breast, invasive means the cells have the ability to spread and Grade 3 means the cancer cells were reproducing at the fastest rate. The report also indicated that the cells had indeed spread to the surrounding tissue, which really broke us down. Did this mean it had spread anywhere else? The doctor said they would not know for sure the status of the spreading until after the surgery. The doctor explained that because of the grade, she would for sure be a candidate for chemotherapy and because it was invasive, the tumor would have to be removed as soon as possible. He scheduled her an appointment later that day to see a surgeon. After we left the office, grandma had breakfast ready for us and we all walked in crying. All of our family came over and we spent the rest of the day comforting my mom, crying, talking and just trying to stay positive.