New diagnosis in less than year opposing breast

DonaKnowles

Hi,

I was diagnosed with IDC and iLC  stage 1 in my left breast in May of 2013. Underwent lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy. Node involvement was negative. Completed 25 radiation treatments in August 2013 and have been on Tamoxifen.  MRI in May 2014 revealed lesion in right breast. Lumpectomy confirmed DCIS. This Monday I underwent recision due to unclear margins with lumpectomy two weeks ago.  I am scheduled to meet with my radiation oncologist again on Monday. Has anyone developed a new cancer in the opposing breast after being on tamoxifen in less than a year? This has me very worried. Advice is appreciated.

DK

momof2doxies

Hi Dona,

So sorry to hear about your second primary. Kinda like the movie "Groundhog Day". The identical thing happen to me last year. The only difference was that I had been on Arimidex. The second tumor was diagnosed different than the first one…lucky me I am now a triple neg. I went for a BMX because I never wanted to endure another mammogram! So I am hoping that I can get through the fall of 2014 without another recurrence. I do not have any idea why this happens to some of us so soon, but it was a good wake up call for me to live each day to the fullest possible. I wish you a favorable outcome with your treatment and hopefully we can beat this beast back!

DonaKnowles

Thank you for your reply. I stayed very positive last year and believed that I had this thing conquered. I'm just at a loss as to why I have developed a new primary cancer in less than a year while on Tamoxifen. My doctors at Duke all encouraged and assured me that I was the perfect candidate for lumpectomy, radiation and hormone therapy. My surgeon classifies this new diagnosis as precancerous, but I don't like it at all. I am 47, very active and otherwise healthy. The more I read, the more questions I have. Contralateral breast cancer increases the risk for another recurrence or distant recurrance significantly. One day at a time and long nights. The mental aspect of this is somewhat debilitating. Thank you again for your encouragement.

DK

FranfromFL

Dona - You are not alone.  I had the same thing happen to me.  In 2002 I had a lumpectomy in my left breast with no node involvement, followed by radiation therapy.  I was on Tamoxifen.  Less than a year later in 2003, I was diagnosed with BC again in the right breast.  They did a mastectomy and chemo and switched me to Arimidex which I took for five years. The good news is that after that I was cancer free for eleven years.  Maybe you will have an even better situation and it will not ever, ever occur again for you.  I hope so.  The bad news for me is that mine did occur again.....for the third time.  I just had a mastectomy on my left breast last week because I was diagnosed with ILC.  Again, no node involvement.  I am still waiting to hear if I will need chemo this time.  I am not trying to scare you but want to let you know this rotten stuff does happen to others too.  I wish I knew what to say to make you feel better but apparently it's all a crap shoot.  Best of luck to you.  

savgigi

Hi, Dona. I am so sorry for your news. Unfortunately, tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors do not eliminate the risk of a recurrence or another primary cancer. They reduce the risk by about 45%. But since no one really knows what causes breast cancer, no one can predict if any of us will be in that lucky group that does not get it again. I pray all goes well for you.

Stix

Sorry donna.  I had Multifocal dcis - high grade- a mx with reconstruction was suggested. 1.5 years later I had  atypical in the other breast- I chose a prophylactic mx. That was the best decision for me due to: younger age, er/pr negative and extremely dense breasts.  I should have had a bil. to begin with. My 3 surgical opinions didn't suggest to get a prophy on the other side. My chance of getting BC before all of this was only .4 percent.  WTF.... 

coraleliz

Dona-maybe it was there all along & was missed? probably not what you want to hear. 

I was found to have IDC in my right breast. My BS hemmed & hawed about ordering a MRI. The MRI found IDC in my left breast. This tumor had 2 positive nodes associated with it. This 2nd tumor was almost missed. Not sure what would have happened if it didn't show up on the MRI. Would tamoxifen have been enough to annihilate this 2nd more advanced tumor??

Imaging is not perfect & things get missed. Or sometimes they don't bother to do the tests. "Studies" show no real benefit...........

Mausie

Hello Dona, 

I am so sorry you are having these recurrences. I am no doctor, but from what I've read, it is the pathological diagnosis of "lobular" which is the culprit, as this pathology type gives a history of cancer showing up in the contralateral breast. Also, none of the medicines that are prescribed for breast cancer work 100% - including Tamoxifen, Femara, all the aromatase inhibitors - none of them work 100%, closer to about 50% more or less. 

I hope this is helpful in understanding your diagnosis and I truly wish you all the best. 

I have had two different primaries now, so I have experienced a little bit of what you must be going through. 

Again, sending good wishes for a speedy and lasting recovery. 

bluepearl

I had two IDCs in both breast, two years apart. Sucks. but we are 3 to 4 times more likely to have this happen, though it is still RARE. Would have preferred a lottery ticket, but then I consider the prognostic factors a kind of lottery ticket too. I was not taking tamoxifen seriously for the two year between.....I am now. Als NOTE: melatonin (and sleeping in a dark room) increase tamoxifen's effec tiveness while low levels of melatonin can make tamoxifen ineffective. Do a search on this (I don't know how to copy and paste). New info worth reading. I know it gives me a better sleep and have been taking it for two years now before knowing its benefits regarding tamoxifen. Wow! So, be well and be happy!!!!!

Karen3

I was diagnosed with triple negative IDC in right breast in 2009 just after my 46th birthday and had chemo them lumpectomy and rads. By summer 2011 I felt a painful hardness in my left breast which felt like a lump when I lay down. I monitored it for a while and it seemed to be growing. I called the BS and was straight in for tests. I had a clean mammo and ultrasound but they did I biopsy 'just in case'. To cut a very long story short, the biopsy to their astonishment showed a high grade cancer with the same pathology as my first cancer - but this time DCIS. I had caught the cancer early, even before it was visible on mammo OR ultrasound. I had a bilateral mastectomy at that point - they didn't know how extensive the cancer was since it was 'invisible'. After surgery they found 4cm of grade 3 DCIS. My breast surgeon recommended a bilateral since he said my breast tissue had 'gone bad' and was susceptible to BC. I was relieved to have the surgery and I am doing fine so far!

Best wishes to you DonnaKnowles and know that you are not alone. As scary as it may seem, the second cancer has been caught early and there is every chance you will be fine. I was not on tamoxifen since I am triple negative. I guess the moral of the story is that we must all keep vigilant, even when we have clear test results - only a biopsy of the area will provided accurate diagnosis . If you notice ANY change then have it checked out. Karen X.