Just received pathology information

schoolmom

I had my lumpectomy on 9/28/12 with removal of 3 sentinel nodes.  All were clear during surgery but 1 showed up with cluster cells borderline micrometastic carcinoma.  My oncologist was shocked when I gave him the report and sent off for my oncotypeDX test.  Although the tumor was very small, it grew from .8 cm at biopsy on 8/31 to 1.2 cm at lumpectomy on 9/28.  I have grade 3 cancer with Nottingham score of 8/9 which really scares me.  The prognosis on line for grade 3 looks HORRIBLE.

schoolmom

Thanks....I am definitely going to change my profile.  I guess my cancer just improved!  I know that grade 3 does better with chemo than slow growing but it still sounds so bad.  My mother had cancer when she was 57, had all the lymph nodes removed and a mastectomy with no chemo or radiation.  That was in 1982 and she is 87 years old.

michellej1980

I too have been reading a lot online since getting my pathology results this week and have scared myself silly. Try not to be disheartened and focus on doing what you can to beat it. I am hoping that my meeting with an oncologist on Wednesday is going to make me feel more positive than I do now. I won't tell you to stop Googling because it's all I've been doing for the past 5 days! I can't help myself...

dogsandjogs

I also had a mastectomy with reconstruction in 1982. No follow-up done at that time other than an annual blood test.

Pbrain

Schoolmom, my breast surgeon says she weighs the grading very lightly because it is subjective on the part of the pathologist.  She even said "hey, what if he was having a fight with his wife before he left the house and just was in a bad mood?"  I am stage 3 and that is the least of my worries.

I've gone from a 6cm lesion (biopsy and path report) to a 1.7 cm lesion MRI and sonogram by my breast surgeon.  Who knows what they'll say after my surgery.  Don't sweat that either.

The OncoDx test is good, very good.  If it says you have a high likelihood of recurrence, they'll probably just be a bit more aggressive in your treatment.  I know that is what my medical oncologist is waiting to see to make the chemo plan.

Stay cool.  I know, easy for me to say.  I have my lumpectomy on Tuesday and I currently have the attention span of a dragon fly.  

Pbrain

Oops!  Grade 3...hopefully not stage 3...

Pbrain

Oh Geeze, I'm a ding dong today!!  6mm on biopsy.  Shoot me up with xanax and put me out of my misery!!  Ha ha ha!

suemed8749

I'm sorry to hear that googling Grade 3 is still scaring newly diagnosed people silly. This happened to me when I was diagnosed with Grade 3 bc in 2008 - almost 5 years ago. 

I at least hope that path reports are a little more optimistc these days. My ER-, PR-, Her2+, 9/9 Grade 3, and ki67 (and probably a few other categories I now forget) were all labeled "Prognosis: Unfavorable." Yikes!

But here I am, no evidence of disease, doing great. RE. the Ativa - couldn't agree MORE with kayb!

Wishing you well as you start dealing with all of this. Sue 

schoolmom

Suemed8749 - Thanks so much for the encouraging words....I grew up in Phoenix and my siblings and parents live there still.  Meanwhile I am here in Houston.

pbrain - Thanks to you....love your screen name.  I was never told which stage....I just tried to figure it out and seems like stage 2.  Sz of tumor was 1.2 cm and classified T1c, clear margins, 1/3 sentinel nodes with cancer clusters from .1 to .2 mm and diagnosed pN1mi ( I guess pre micrometastic)

dogsandjogs - I was born in Torrance!  Small world.

kayb - Thanks for the kind words.  I will check back in soon. 

MiniMacsMom

It gets better, the Pre-treatment phase where you are learning and trying to figure things out sucks the most.  I though the world was ending in the beginning, but it gets easier.  Even though chemo and rads suck, its easier because you have a plan and some control !  

kayb-  I think xanax or ativan should come BEFORE the first pre-op when your surgeon comes in and tells you that your supposed to be small DCIS tumor looks like its 15cm on a mammogram!

CoolBreeze

Ladies, please be careful with what you read online.  Here is how google works:  The more links a site has in to it, the higher the authority and the easier they are to find.  What sites have the most links?  Old ones.  Ones with outdated information.

There is so much old, outdated and just plain bad information on breast cancer out there, it's not even funny.  Even on the more reputable sites, you really have to look at the dates of articles.  There are new treatments that have made some of that information you are reading obsolete. 

Lots of women have grade 3 cancer and live out their full, natural lives, same as grade 1 and 2.  It isn't automatically a death sentence, it just means your cancer had more abnormal cell structure than others.  Also, it is completely normal to have it a different size on surgical removal than in imaging.  The limits of imaging are not evident to early stagers but to many of us, we face it every day.  Those machines are not as great or as accurate as you think they are.

ER+ is the easiest cancer to treat.  You have lots of options at your disposal.  The oncotype dx will tell you many things.  Hopefully, you'll have a low score and that will be it but if you do end up needing chemo, I want to tell you that it is not like the movies and not as scary as you think it is.  Many woman do it every day and some of us have been doing it for years.

Good luck!  Dr. Google is a terrible diagnostician, all newbies should keep that in mind!  Best of luck to you. 

edwards750

Amen Cool Breeze. Schoolmom...I had the oncotype test done because my ONC recommended it. She was on the fence about chemo or rads for me. My cancer was Stage l but a micromet showed up after the lumpectomy. My BS said automatic chemo but my Onc said no and that too many women were being overtreated so they turned to the Oncotype test to help her decide my treatment. It takes 2 weeks although mine came back in 10 days and it is pricey but most insurance companies will pay for it. BCBS did anyway. I can remember the day my BS nurse called with the results. I thought I was going to be sick and then I started crying when she told me the tumor was non aggressive and smaller than first thought and my score was 11. Had I not had the test I would have had to do the chemo but it also provided me with more information about my bc. They do 21 tests on the biology of your cancer. It was beyond difficult waiting but given what I had already gone through well worth it. Good luck hope yours comes back low too. Diane

Cindyl

Yes.  My MO told me that before the Onctype he would have recomended chemo for me based on the size and multifocal nature of my tumors, but with my oncutype score we could be reasonably comfortable skipping chemo.

schoolmom

Well today is the day.  I go to the onc in a few hours for my oncotype results.  Mixed feelings.  If chemo will kill it, want to get in and do that.  If not, glad to have my hair and a less agressive cancer.  Just tell me and get it over with.  Check in soon.

CelineFlower

thinking of u schoolmom.. hope you are ok..

try some purple bubbles... they can be a fun distraction

schoolmom

Friday morning.  The lab would not release my oncotypedx results yesterday due to insurance issues....stupid Aetna.  I had to reschedule and have an appt. today at 1:15.  Check in later.