My mom was diagnosed yesterday

Krissy9055

My mom was diagnosed yesterday with breast cancer and they said it is progressive and want to do surgery next week followed by radiation and chemotherapy. Everything is happening so fast and with them wanting to do surgery next week I'm scared it's happening too fast. If they are wanting to do everything so fast I'm scared about why it's needed this fast. I don't know what type of cancer it is and we haven't seen a pathology report from the biopsy. Should she get a second opinion or should she just have the surgery next week and go from there?

dtad

Hi Krissy. Sorry about your mom but I think you will find this forum very helpful. The first thing I would like to say is slow everything down! It doesn't matter how aggressive the cancer is. There is absolutely no reason to have surgery in a week before you know all the details. You definitely need to see the biopsy report and go from there. Hopefully your mom is being seen at a university based teaching hospital. Where she is treated is very important. Again IMO she should not have surgery until you have more facts. Good luck and keep us posted. Feel free to private message me if you want to talk more details.....

Moderators

krissy, welcome, and sorry to hear about what you and your mom are going through. You may want to ask her doctor these questions, as the treatment decisions are typically based on her pathology report, which they should share with you. If you still don't feel as though you understand the quick decision, you should certainly consider a second opinion!

LisaAlissa

Hi Krissy!

So sorry to hear about your Mom.

Can you tell us a little more? For instance is it your Mom's PCP who is pushing this along so quickly? A surgeon?

Your instincts to slow this train down are perfectly reasonable. There are very, very few kinds of breast cancer which constitute an actual medical emergency. One of the ones which does constitute an emergency, Inflamatory Breast Cancer, is almost always treated with chemo before surgery! Most times, by the time a breast cancer is discovered it has been growing for years, sometimes as many as 8-10! You have time to do testing to find out what you're dealing with, consult with not only a surgeon and a primary care provider but also with a medical oncologist (MO) and a radiation oncologist (RO).

For years, surgery was always first, so many people didn't see a MO until after surgery. But the MO will (likely) be your Mom's medical team leader--she'll still be seeing the MO long after the surgeon is done, so you want to select one she will be comfortable with long term. And, BTW, increasingly, they're doing pre-surgery treatments, so no reason to jump into surgery next week.

So you'll want to see the pathology reports, interview/select a medical oncologist, potentially seek second opinions on both pathology and treatment plans.

Get copies of everything, and start files. You'll be amazed at how much paperwork this will generate. And how often the right piece of paper won't get to where it needs to be. So you want to have your own copies at hand so that you can supply what's needed to be copied as you go along.

Also consider recording major consultations. There is so much information given in those meetings, that you won't be able to remember it.

Hang in there,

LisaAlissa

Kicks

There us lot of info (from what you wrote) that she has not been given yet that she should have before jumping straight to surgery within a week.

The type (DCIS, IDC, ILC, IBC, or rarer types), ER/PR & HER2 status, suspected stage (can't be accurately determined til surgery path. report), grade, size, other pre-existing health issues/age, possible node involvement or mets are but a few of the answers she needs to have to make an educated decision on TX plan.

Surgery - a lumpectomy (LX) or mastectomy (one side /UMX or both sides/BMX)? Immediate reconstruction - need to see Plastic Surgeon first to discuss the different options available. Is the Surgeon a Breast Surgeon (or Woman's Surgeon) or a General Surgeon who does all sorts of surgeries? Lots of questions to ask.

There needs to a Team (MO/Chemo Dr, RO/Rads Dr, and Surgeo ) that comes up with the best TX for her individually. Jumping straight into surgergy is no longer the only option, though for some is the best option. While neoadjuvant (pre-surgery) Chemo is SOP for IBC, it is being used more of now for other types to get 'it' to shrink, get better margins for a better surgical results.

She (and you) should have a note pad to write down all your questions and make a copy to hand to the Dr to be sure all questions are answered. IF the first reply is not understood - keep asking until he/she gives answers that are understood. She needs to be sure to get copies of all tests, scans, reports, etc. and file them away just in case might be needed in the future. It is her right to have these copies.

MelanieBC

Krissy, my mom was very similar to yours. She was diagnosed on August 27 and had surgery on Sept 11. Her cancer is agressive.

I know people thing that you shouldn't have surgery so quick, but for my mom she had 22/33 lymph nodes with cancer in them. It was only time before it spread.

In her case, between diagnosis, we spent a lot of time at the hospital. She had full body scans, pre-op testing, blood work, etc.

The pathology report was not given to us until after her surgery was completed. The difference may be that we are in Canada, I am not sure.

We trusted her surgeon to do what he felt was neccessary. Then when she had her post-op follow-up, we went in with tons of questions about what was found on her pathology report.

Hugs!

Krissy9055

Thank you all for your kind words and advise. My mom received her biopsy report and it's says "These results are consistent with a primary infiltrating mammary carcinoma, especially a infiltrating ductal carcinoma." It also says estrogen receptor negative, GATA-3 positive. The doctor did an MRI and the surgeon suggests she does a mastectomy with reconstruction at the same time and she decided to do both breast. My grandfather, her father, had breast cancer and that scares me because we are worried it's genetic and he passed away after having breast cancer. She is supposed to meet with a plastic surgeon this week and have surgery next week. I know when the surgeon did an ultrasound he said the lump was over an inch and I think he told my mom 6 cm. The size scares me and also the faCT that she is ER negative. They don't have the results of the PR or the HER2 on the report.

Anonymous

Hi Krissy, I'm sorry you have to be here but you've come to the right place.

I would say that surgery ~2 weeks after diagnosis isn't terribly fast, but then again I had 5-6 weeks between diagnosis and surgery. I know the surgeon suggested reconstruction at the same time as the mastectomy, but make sure that is what your mom wants. Reconstruction is not always easy and she can always decide to do it later (about a year) after the mastectomy.

Her2 status is important because if it is positive, chemo is really beneficial and there are specific drugs that are given to help even more. Did her doctors suggest chemo or treatment before surgery? Sometimes this is better because they can determine if the chemo is working and it will make the surgery a bit easier. Please have her see an oncologist before surgery to make sure the treatment plan is the best one for her.

Wishing your mom the best and keep us posted.

Krissy9055

The doctor said about doing radiation and chemo after her surgery. I asked her about meeting with an oncologist before she has surgery and she said her doctor did not mention it. I go to a cancer specialist because of a blood disorder and want her to go see them before she had surgery but she wants to talk to the surgeon first and he is on vacation this week.