I don't understand....

katec

I hope someone will help us understand them,

My husband was diagonzed with Breast Cancer. I found a large lump in his left breast just before christmas. We saw his doctor immediately and he went for a mamogram.

The results were very bad. The tumor was too large to operate on and lymph nodes were affected.

the good news - from the pet scan , No metastis

He spent this Jan - to early March having chemo and his operation took place last thursday March 25. The results came in today and here they  are-

tumor size 5.1 cm

lymph nodes removed 13 with 10 cancerous

The surgeon told me that this was not good news,. anything over 3 lymph nodes infected is very  serious.

Putting this together myself, that would be T3 N3- right?

can anyone

 explain this to me? I am quite apart with the news...

lovinmomma

I am sorry that you are having to be here. I am not long into this journey myself, but wanted you to know that we are here.

katec

Thank you Kimberly! Do you understand our pathology report?

Makratz

I'm not sure if male breast cancer can be estrogen and prgesteron positive, like my cancer.  Does the path report mention ER or PR?  HER negative or positive?

Sorry you are going through this.  I hope all goes well for you both.

katec

ITS ESTROGEN DRIVEN...

ANYone know the significance of the large number of cancerous lymph nodes?? The surgeon said anything over 3 is alaming and we had 10

sheila888

Hi Kate....sorry about the news.

Was he DX  DCIS or IDC?

Makratz

Not sure what you mean by T3?  Triple negative breast cancer?  If so, I don't believe he would have that if it is estrogen driven.  I'm guessing it was IDC (Invasice Ductal Carcinoma) since it was in the nodes too.  Is he doing chemo to shrink it and then have it removed? 

katec

Hi Seyla888

dx, dcis idc?

I dont know these terms...

Makratz

dx is diagnosis

dcis is ductal carcinoma in stu

idc is invasive ductal carcinoma.

There is a thread called abbreviations for newbies.  Check it out!

katec

Hi Makraz!

I dont know any of the terms....

His  tumor was 5.1 cm and he had 13 lymph nodes removed, 10 of them infected...

Makratz

My nodes were not positive so I am not a good source of info for you there.  Others will come along and help you!!

Please remember that since you are new, you have restrictions on the amount of posts you can post per day.  You can always PM (Private message) people with questions.  To PM someone look towards the top right of the indexes and you will find it.

sheila888

kate....First I want to tell you, you cant post more than 5 in 24 hours until you reach 50 posts.

According the BCO any tumor over 5cm with Lymph Node involvement is considered T3.

Which means Stage III.

Stage III comes with a letter next to it IIIA  IIIB  IIIC meaning the locations of the Lymph Nodes.

Sheila.

sheila888

I'm sure someone with more knowledge will come and help you.

Sheila

suemed8749

Kate: Here is the description of Stage IIIA from bc.org:

Stage IIIA describes invasive breast cancer in which either:

• no tumor is found in the breast. Cancer is found in axillary lymph nodes that are clumped together or sticking to other structures, or cancer may have spread to lymph nodes near the breastbone, OR
• the tumor is 5 centimeters or smaller and has spread to axillary lymph nodes that are clumped together or sticking to other structures, OR
• the tumor is larger than 5 centimeters and has spread to axillary lymph nodes that are clumped together or sticking to other structures

You can go to the top of the page and click on Symptoms and Diagnosis and then go to Stages to see the description of all the stages.

I know that there are many wonderful women on the Stage 3 forum who can offer you support and hope. I'm wishing you and your husband all the best as you fight this beast.

ithaca

I'm sorry you and your husband are going through so much right now. Like others have said, it sounds like your husband's cancer would be categorized as Stage III. Another term that's often used is "Locally Advanced Breast Cancer."

ithaca

I'm sorry you and your husband are going through so much right now. Like others have said, it sounds like your husband's cancer would be categorized as Stage III. Another term that's often used is "Locally Advanced Breast Cancer."

Bob

Pure

Your husband is stage 3. If it's estrogen driven THAT IS GOOD-that means he has a LOT of treatments open to him. Yes, it's serious but you have a lot of good treatments available and being ER positive is makes the treatments highly responsive to treatment. I would HIGHLY suggest going to the stage 3 forum-the girls there are great and can support you through this as well as answer your questions. Also, there are a TON of long terms survivors over there with the same if not worse diagnosis.

Larry44

Male breast cancer can be ER+ and PR+, mine was. I was also tested for Her2nu which in my case was negative. If one's tumor is ER+ then men can take Tamoxifen for 5 years starting after they finish chemo and usually after they finish radiation. My breast cancer was highly estrogen sensitive so I took Tamoxifen for 5 years. Tamoxifen is a hormonal therapy which dramatically reduces the possibility of recurrence.

Katec, I think it is highly likely that your husband's doctors will recommend chemo and possibly radiation therapy. The day I received my diagnosis of having breast cancer was the worst day of my life, it sure is a shock, but there are treatments which are quite successful.

Meanwhile take some deep breaths. You and your husband may need anti-anxiety or anti-depressants to get through this journey. Talk to your doctors about how you feel. I took Xanax pretty regularly for a while, stopped several years ago when I did not need it any more.

Mikeswife

Hi KateC,

I was where you are about 1 year ago. It is over wheloming right now I know. Take time to have your oncologist explain the report to you. Help your husband ask the questions too.So many people here can help you.

Make sure no one draws blood or puts Ivs on the side that that his nodes were removed from.  ((Hugs))

Bren-2007

You can find lots of info on male breast cancer at the site below.  Check the male breast cancer forum and also the forum called "Cutting Edge."  There is a male survivor who posts there and he can help answer some of your questions.

http://www.nosurrenderbreastcancersurvivorforum.org/

Wishing the best,

Bren