Newly diagnosed with IDC at age 37

Cherry02031978

Hello everyone! It is so nice to come on here and join a community that knows what you are going through! 2 weeks ago I was diagnosed with IDC grade 3, they are thinking clicnical stage I or II. I have had ultrasounds of my tumor which is around 2 cm, mammograms, and a biopsy. I just had a breast MRI this week and I have to go back next week for yet another biopsy right at the 3:00 position and my tumor is in the 2:00 position. She told me it could be nothing to try not to freak out, but how do you do that?? She said it could be an intrammary node, or it could be nothing. So that makes three needles in my breast in three weeks. My cancer is ER PR postive, and HER2 negative. She said that was a good thing, and if you were to have breast cancer that is the kind you wanted to have. I am scared to death, and so frightened over the entire process. I have elected to do a lumpectomy which is scheduled for Nov. 10th. Anyone out there have any tips on this type of cancer if you have had the same as mine? Did you do chemo? My oncologist feels with my age that I am going to have to go through it. I just need some wods of encouragement right now. I would assume if my lymph nodes were an issue they would have biopsied them right?

KathyL624

I was diagnosed in February with IDC as well--at 38 years old. I am also ER PR positive and Her2 negative. I did not do chemo because I had a small tumor and no lymph node involvement, and finally, there is a test called oncotype that they do after surgery to look at the biology of the tumor, and mine came back in the low range.

You won't know until surgery if you have lymph node involvement. They will do a sentinel node biopsy to check for that. Even if you do, depending on the amount, you may still be eligible for oncotype testing to determine if chemo is in order.

In terms of the MRI, if it makes you feel any better, mine showed multiple spots in both breasts (beyond the known tumor) and they all turned out to be benign.

Moderators

Hi Cherry, and welcome to Breastcancer.org!

We're sorry you have to be here, but really glad you found us. As you can already see, our Community is full of very helpful members, always willing to lend advice or support.

We're sure you'll get some more support soon, but in the meantime, you may want to check out the main Breastcancer.org site's section on IDC and also Your Diagnosis, for some good information about what each piece of your pathology report will mean for you, as the information comes in.

We hope this helps and we look forward to hearing more from you in the future -- we're all here for you!

--The Mods

keepthefaith

MRI's can be very sensitive and can pick up "false positives", so try not to stress about it!:). It is good that they are being thorough! Best wishes to you both.

inks

I was diagnosed couple weeks before my 37 birthday as well. Most likely because of your age and grade you will have to have chemo. But the upside is that since you are fairly young you will most likely tolerate the chemo well. I am doing fine 3 years out. If the MRI was after biopsy then the lymph node could be reacting to the biopsy. I had and enlarged palpable node that ended up only having micromets. Wishing you the best!

Positive2strong

hi Cherry,

I just had my lumpectomy on Monday. If you got to IDC blog I posted that I was stressing out and you can see all the comments the women gave me.

This community blog is the only thing that held by anxiety at bay.

What city are you in. I felt so fortunate that I had an excellent surgeon and a fabulous hospital for surgery and staff.

I took my ipad to surgery waiting area and texted the women. It kept my anxiety down and yes I had a long wait before surgery. Check in at 11:00 and surgery at 4 pm.

It is funny I was a worrier about so many things.. For example I had a trip planned to Italy, that is what got me to the doctor for a complete physical because I was worried my heart would stop on the plane...well big shocker one I never imagined, you have breast cancer.

I told my primary Doctor I was going to Italy and take care of this when I returned.

Well, I never worried for one moment about dying on the plane or driving in Italy or anything. I knew to enjoy and savor Everything...yes of course with every picture I took would this be the last time. I had some horrible thoughts racing thru my head. My huge fear was dying on the operating table, but all these wonderful women had been thru it and helped me.

Some words that helped me were let go and let the experienced medical staff take care of you.

And this is manageable. I have a friend that is a 20 year survivor. That helped to see her and she is fine. She went with me to my first appointment. And she reassured me how much progress has been made.

Thinking of you during your tests

Positive Linda

Cherry02031978

Thank you ladies so much!!! You have really made me feel better over the entire situation. How was the lumpectomy surgery recovery

Kimm992

I was diagnosed a year ago at 35!

It is terrifying and I didn't see how I was going to be able to get through it all. I had a 2 year old and a 4 month old baby.

One year later I am happy and HEALTHY and doing better than I ever could have imagined.

When I asked my MO if he thought being diagnosed at such a young age made it realistic to think I'd live to be old he said, " We are very good at treating this now...so save your money!!"

You are going to be okay!