mammo showed 1.7cm tumor, at lumpectomy it was 3.7cm

BLUEEYES1

Help,  this is my first post and I'm confused and scared

At my biopsy 9/15 my mammo & ultrasound showed a 1.7 cm tumor. Dr said stage 1. 

 I had a lumpectomy 2 wks later on 9/29  and my Dr called me Friday10/5  with final pathology.

I was expecting bad news but it was extra bad news.  He said the tumor was much larger than they expected it was 3.7 cm I was in shock by this and didnt expect that and didnt know what to say.

  After we hung up I cried for a while and then got myself together and had  questions, but of course the Dr had already left. 

So now I am a stage 2b and it did spread to 1 lymph

Has this happened to anyone ?  How could it now be so large?

Possibly it spread from the biopsy ?

What should I ask the Dr when he callls me back ?  Any and all suggestions will be appreciated.  I have no one to talk to and do not know any one who has been through this :-(  

Moderators

Hi Blueeyes, and welcome to Breastcancer.org. We're sorry that you had to join us, but glad you found this wonderful community for information and support.

Until you get responses from other members here, we recommend you to take a look at the section Breast Cancer 101 from the main site, designed for those recently diagnosed. Reading there will help you understand your diagnosis and everything you need to know now in this difficult moments. Also helpful information in the article Your Diagnosis: Questions to Ask Your Doctor.

We hope this helps. Please let us know how everything goes.

Best,

The Mods

kar123

Hi BlueEyes, sorry you have to join us, but a lot of good info on this site.  It's my go to place!  More than likely it was always that large.  ILC does not show up well on imaging.  In fact, although rare, mine didn't show up on any imaging and was 7cm.  It has to do with the way ILC forms in sheets rather than a solid tumor.  Add dense breasts on top of that and it can hide from mammo's pretty well.  I would follow the mods suggestion and also go to the ILC section on this website and learn more about this type of cancer.  It might help you form some questions.  Best of luck! Kelli

lyzzysmom

Blueeyes, I just wanted to say how sorry I am that you have to join us and send you a big hug at this scary and confusing time.

ILC can be sneaky and does not always show up on mammograms. Also it does not necessarily have the lumps that we expect when we hear of BC so it does sometimes turn out larger than at biopsy. It would not be the biopsy that caused it to grow. Mine was 0.7 at biopsy, 1.5 at lumpectomy and it was found very early just  by chance.

When you call your doctor ask them what your treatment plan will be and also ask the hormone status of the tumor as that will also determine what that plan will be.Once you have a firm plan in place many ladies find that helps and it becomes a bit less scary.  I am sure some stage 2 ladies will chime in with more advice and support and there are many with larger tumors that have been through treatment are are doing just fine.

 Make a list of everything you want to ask the doctor as you think of it so you don't forget. Also if you can have somebody with you as a second pair of ears when you speak to the doctor that is good as it is difficult to remember anything they tell you when so many things are whirling round your head. Wishing you all the best!!

Sam2U

Blueeyes-glad you found us but sorry you needed us.

 

I too had the shock of my life at final pathology.  My first biopsy showed a "tiny" area of 3 mm, then I had a MRI, that showed a slightly larger 2nd area of 7mm.  Moved my care to a different center and after surgery it was 9.4 cm--one big tumor. 

I was shocked, the new center was a teaching facility and they reviewed the actual MRI images and concluded that the tumor had always been that large, the images were misread at the other facility.

I am almost 1 year from diagnosis and doing great after 5 months of chemo and 6 weeks of rads.

As the others have suggested make a list of questions, none of them are too silly!! Hope you can find loads of information and support here--this is the go to place for a lot of us.