It's been 6 months and just diagnosed, How long now?

canadiancampmama

Hi, I'm 56 and started will a small infected cyst. Went to walk-in clinic(no PCP), received antibiotics and was advised to have a screening mammogram, that was at the end of August, 2014 .Screening mammogram was Nov 26/14, diagnostic mammogram was Dec 22/14. I received that report on the 23rd. I was scheduled to have 2 biopsies of the right breast and 1 of the left on Feb4/15, cancelled to Feb 12/15.

Received report Feb28/15 of grade2 DCIS with calcifications. Again I received the information from a walk-in clinic. I have an appointment on Tuesday to see a breast surgeon, but what after that? What does "with calcification" mean? Am I allowed to have a copy of the path report?

Also wanted to say that in Jan/15 I was diagnosed with Graves Disease.

Getting nervous.

Bendi

I am sorry to hear of the long process involved for you.....do you not have a primary care doctor? I know they are hard to come by in certain areas in Canada and walk in clinics are sometimes your only choice.

I would demand a copy! You have every right to all your records.....don't play nice.

I have micro calcifications also, there is lots on the internet and in this forum.....I believe they are indicative of abnormal cell growth and when they show up in certain patterns it may indicate some issues within the breast.

I go for my biopsy on Wednesday and I have a great doctor, thank goodness. She knows me well and will provide me with all the information I want....love her!

I have Hashimotos disease, also an autoimmune disease of the thyroid. It has nothing to do with your diagnosis from the research that I have seen. Make sure you are getting the correct meds for Graves as it is easily treated.

Best of luck to you

Bendi

canadiancampmama

Thanks Bendi,

No PCP, haven't had one since 2008, very hard to come by here.

I had a blood test done, had all diagnostic tests done, saw the ENO doc and received diagnosis within 2 weeks of the Graves.

I just wish it was happening with the BC as well. Sitting waiting, wondering if it is getting worse is driving me crazy.

Cheers Heather

Morwenna

Well your breast surgeon will look after you from the surgical aspect, and depending on the pathology may or may not refer you to a medical and/or radiation oncologist for post surgical management.

Any of these, it seems, can continue to follow you until you are deemed "cancer-free". I live in Calgary, and I do have a GP, but sometimes I found it a bit frustrating to not know who was really "in charge" as regards my overall management. I seemed to get passed around a bit. It is helpful if your team actually communicate well, but sadly I think this doesn't always happen!

Good luck on your "journey". You will get through this

And yes, when you see your breast surgeon, ask for a copy of your report. You may be asked to sign a form, but there won't (shouldn't!) be a problem with you having it.

canadiancampmama

Thanks morwenna for the advice. How long is the wait between 1st visit to surgeon and surgery?

downdog

http://waittimes.novascotia.ca/procedure/breast-ca...

Nervousness is normal. You can consider getting a prescription for Ativan or Xanax to help. Good luck.

Morwenna

The wait between first visit to surgeon and having surgery is so variable depending on factors such as medical urgency, operating room time available to the surgeon and etc etc etc ... I think I waited less than 3 weeks ...

canadiancampmama

Just to update I saw the BS on the 10th and lx with snb is on March 26th . This will be followed by rads. I still won't know about chemo until after final path report . This takes about 4 weeks. She also told me that it is dcis with invasion doesn't that make it Idc ?

I forgot to ask if they will check the Snb during surgery or if it's the final path report that will determine is more node removal will be required? I know they may have to return for poor margins .

I think I am more confessed now than I was.

The journey is just being and I already want off the train !

Frefluterb

Hi this is my first post since joining the BCO, It's really nice to see all this different information however it confuses me so much. When I originally saw my surgeon he said lumpectomy with radiation. Now I'm seeing so many women with the same size 1 cm having chemotherapy. Just realized, a surgeon is a surgeon 😶 I see my oncologist on Monday so trying to stay in the moment will post results when I get them.

PS it's really nice to see people with graves disease or thyroid conditions because it's been a concern of mine on how that autoimmune diseases work with cancer.

Jeeper4

Frefluterb-chemo can depend on many factors like lymph node involvement, ER/PR status, HER2 status.

canadianmama-your oncologist will look at your pathology report and talk about chemo/tamoxifen/AI if indicated. Please ask for a copy of your pathology report for your own records.