Breast Cancer After The Lump Is Gone!

I wrote a post about breast cancer last week. I was on the way to Wyoming as my Mom was preparing to have a lump removed from her breast. Thank you for your continued prayer.

I haven’t received a copy of the pathology report yet but the lump was confirmed to be cancer. As is standard in this situation, the next step will be a biopsy of the lymph nodes. She is scheduled for that next week. From what I’ve been told so far it sounds as though the doctor will perform a sentinel node biopsy.

As I’ve noted in several posts and articles about cancer, from both a medical and life insurance point of view, the stage and grade of the cancer are critical pieces of information. At this juncture of the process, having biopsied the mass that was removed, the pathologist should have a clear indication of the grade of the cancer. The grades are 1 through 3 with 1 being the best and 3 being the most aggressive.

Although they could make an assumption of the stage of the cancer at this point, the biopsy of the lymph nodes will provide more definitive information about whether the cancer was contained “in situ” or has spread. Once the stage and grade are established, treatment options can be discussed.

Bottom line. Caught early, breast cancer has a very good survival rate. This bodes well for women who will be purchasing life insurance post treatment as well as for women, like my Mom, who have reached a point where there is no real purpose for additional life insurance. The keys for good rates on life insurance are a low stage and grade, one year post treatment, and a good independent agent. I hate to beat up on these guys all the time, but you really don’t want to apply for life insurance after breast cancer through your local auto and homeowners agent. The outcome will be adding insult to injury.