Just diagnosed with invasive DCIS

Hoping1975

I was diagnosed with breast cancer October 2016. Had a double mastectomy on January 9th 2017,having a petscan on January 23rd. As of now without the petscan I have stage 3B,I am doing breast reconstruction. I have tissue expanders in now,I need aggressive chemotherapy with radiation after. I am 41 and am scared of this process. I just got a copy of my pathology report,but don't understand some of it..the tumor was 6 cm and ALOT of other things I need to look over closely!

BarredOwl

Hi Hoping1975:

I am sorry to hear of your current diagnosis of Stage 3B breast cancer. Stage 3B disease is by definition a diagnosis of "invasive" breast cancer.

It is quite common for some DCIS ("ductal carcinoma in situ") to be found along with invasive disease. Please note that DCIS is by definition a form of "in situ" or "non-invasive" disease.

The presence of the invasive disease (e.g., invasive ductal carcinoma ("IDC"), invasive lobular carcinoma ("ILC"), etc.) is the basis for the recommendation of chemotherapy in your case.

(For other new members, who may have recently been diagnosed with apparently pure DCIS (i.e., no invasion present), I note that chemotherapy is not indicated for pure DCIS under current guidelines).

This page from the main site here illustrates the difference between non-invasive DCIS (confined to the interior of the duct) and invasive breast cancer (which has broken through the wall of the duct into surrounding breast tissue):

http://www.breastcancer.org/pictures/types/dcis/dcis_range?utm_medium=OBWidget&utm_source=OB

Please do not hesitate to ask your oncologist to explain the key findings of your pathology report to you, and how they relate to your treatment plan. Meanwhile, you may wish to download and print the .pdf pamphlet entitled, "Your Guide to the Breast Cancer Pathology Report" at the bottom of this page from the main site here:

http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/diagnosis/getting_path_report

Please note that the pamphlet is very comprehensive, and not all tests are appropriate for all conditions.

With Stage 3B disease, recommended systemic treatment(s) will reflect the estrogen receptor ("ER") status, progesterone receptor ("PR") status, and HER2 status of the invasive disease:

(1) Chemotherapy (e.g., Adriamycin plus Cytoxan (cyclophosphamide)("A/C"), paclitaxel (Taxol), etc.);

and if indicated, one or more of the following:

(2) HER2-targeted therapy, for HER2-positive invasive disease (e.g., trastuzumab (Herceptin), pertuzumab (Perjeta));

and/or

(3) Endocrine therapy, for hormone receptor-positive (ER+ and/or PR+) disease, also loosely referred to as (anti)-hormonal therapy (e.g., tamoxifen, aromatase inhibitors, etcetera).

I see that you found the Stage III forum, which is good. You will find a lot of information and support.

I am hoping any scans are clear and that you tolerate any treatments well.

Best,

BarredOwl