First visit with the surgeon

I was surprised by how open the surgeon was. He talked about the different options, but is inclined to start with breast conserving surgery, which works for me. However, before that determination can be made, he wants me to get an MRI of both breasts just to make sure there aren't any hidden lumps that weren't seen on mammogram. Since I have two areas of concern, the tumor and the micro calcs, if any others show up then I'm most likely in for a mastectomy.

The lumpectomy surgery would consist of taking out both areas in one large excision and also doing a sentinel node biopsy to see if there is any cancer spread to the lymph nodes. During the surgery, the pathologist will be able to determine if the node is positive or negative. If it's positive, they will take out about 1/3 of the lymph nodes.. basically all the nodes in the axilla. Although the surgery would be under a general anesthetic, I would go home the same day.

Since I plan to see another surgeon for a 2nd opinion, we didn't make any definite plans for the MRI.

Oh, and he said it is normal for the tumor to feel larger and closer to the skin. The biopsy caused the tissues to swell. At least I'm not imagining things!