New diagnosis from colon mass

critterzmom

Several weeks ago I underwent surgery for an intestinal obstruction that according to the pathology was actually metastatic breast cancer. I have undergone many diagnostic procedures (CTs, MRIs, PET scan, lumbar puncture) in an attempt to locate the primary source, with no luck, and there are no other indications of metastatic disease. I am currently on hormone therapy.   Can anyone suggest sources of information for this situation?  My oncologist has been pretty patient with my questions but I still don't feel like I have enough information to make the decisions that have to be made at this point.  Thanks for any help!

Jelson

no expert here, but I googled around - found out what you have is called occult breast cancer and found an article which contains other links:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC250369...

and here is one where the mass was in the intestines

http://www.hindawi.com/crim/medicine/2009/564756/

here is a thread from bco, but all but one poster has the bc show up in the axillary nodes. 

http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/67/topic/7...

hope others will chime in, Saturday nights are usually pretty slow. so sorry you are going through this. 

Julie E

MelissaDallas

Critterz, welcome, though I'm sorry you need to be here.

Why don't you try reposting this in the Stage IV threads? I think you will get more responses there.

mdg

If your doctors are not able to give you enough answers, try a second opinion elsewhere.  There are some great cancer centers but it depends on where you are.  I got second opinions on everything.

critterzmom

Thanks!!! Julie, no one in my medical menagerie has ever mentioned occult tumors, so this is a great step forward in my research.   Melissa, I'll head on over to the Stage IV threads now. 

critterzmom

mdg thanks!  Folks around here usually head to MDA for second opinions.  Looks like that should be my next step.  There just isn't much info in general circulation about occult bc that isn't associated with lymph nodes, and I don't know how much experience my local team could have had with this presentation.