How long until treatment plan is in place?

Marcygiff

I was just diagnosed from a stereotactic biopsy with IDC, DCIS, lymphovascular invasion, ER/PR+, HER2-. Met with the surgeon yesterday and felt like there is no real sense of urgency. I apparently have other areas of concern in the same breast that they didn't really worry about until my biopsy came back positive. They did another biopsy of one of the other areas yesterday and now I wait 3-5 days for those results. 

From what I gathered from her yesterday, she intends to see what these results show and then schedule an MRI which has to take place 7-14 days after my period starts. So, best case scenario, I'm looking at mid-July before we even begin to talk surgery or find out about lymph node involvement. There has been no discussion about other tests to check if it has spread anywhere else. 

Is this normal? Am I unreasonable to think it should move along a little faster?

wrenn

any wait seems long. It is hard to relax while waiting.  I felt my lump on June 15th and had surgery August 16th.  It actually felt like things were moving quickly at the time because I was in denial and wanting it to all stop.

Sorry you find yourself here. It is a scary time.  There is lots of support here. Take care of yourself and try to stay busy.

SpecialK

Pretty common - I had the mammo/ultrasound on Sept. 9, the radiologist was pretty sure that this was suspicious for malignancy. I had a biopsy, BRCA testing (I am adopted), and a pre-surgical MRI. I did not have surgery until Nov. 1st. You can check people's signature lines and see the timeline from diagnosis to first surgery, you will see this a lot.

Kicks

We are each different as is our DX AND our Dr.  For some of us, neoadjuvant chemo has to come first and for some surgery is first.  There is no 'One Size Fits All' when it comes to dealing with the different types and stages of BC.  For me, I started chemo 17 days after DX which I got the day after the biopsies.  In those days, I had a lot of Dr appts (surgeon, chemo and rads) and a lot of scans amd tests.  I did not have a complete TX plan immediately as 'things' can change as TX progresses.  It turned out to be chemo, surgery, chemo and rads in that order for me.

Do not expect you journey to be exactly what anyone else has traveled.

bc101

It sounds so cliche, but the waiting is the hardest part and the beginning is so difficult! I don't know about waiting on the MRI since I am postmenopausal. More importantly, I would request an OncotypeDX test and BRCA testing, too. These are critical tests that predict how aggressive your treatment should be. They will take time to come back, so it would be a good idea to get started on them now. All these pieces will help to make a decision for your treatment. Good luck to you!

Marcygiff

Met with a different surgeon for a 2nd opinion this morning and the difference was night and day! I left the last surgeon without even knowing when my next appt would be and a referral for an MRI "sometime in July." I left the new surgeon's office with an entire bag of information, phone numbers to call, an MRI this afternoon, sent straight to genetic testing for BRCA, scheduled for plastic surgery consult on Tuesday and a tentative treatment plan. Big difference! Much more comfortable with the proposed plan going forward. 

Thanks so much for all the feedback!

Ariom

Marygiff, that's great news, it isn't much to ask, is it? To know what's going on and have a Dr with some sense of urgency about putting a plan together, but the truth is, sometimes it just takes a second opinion to get the show on the road!

It sounds like you have found the right match for you, I wish you all the very best.

Let us know how you're getting on!

msphil

I found my lump in shower, so scared and I thought all was moving to slow, I had the sense of urgency, that they needed to move fast, but my team of docs were getting together to come up with the best plan for me and type of cancer I had if nodes, were involved etc, so there was my pcp, my oncologist,radiologist putting there heads together and plus I was in the process of making wedding plans so overwhelming But with Faith and lots of prayer, support from family and friends, I got thru, I am now a 20 yr SURVIVOR(Praise GOD) hang in there.msphil(idc, stage2, 0/3 nodes, L mast, chemo and rads and 5 yrs on tamoxifen)