Mass Question?

Caari

For any folks who have been diagnosed, maybe you know the answer to this.

Can you have a single large mass and part of it is cancer and part of it is not? I wonder this because I see lots of folks with very small masses and I wonder if, some parts are cancer and some parts are not and would they measure the entire mass and call it all whatever type of cancer they found? My mass is large, 6.5cm they say, and, it's bi-rads 4c so I am a nervous wreck that it is cancer and that the mass is so large. I have had my biopsy and now just waiting for results.

SummerAngel

Yes, you can have part cancer and part benign mass. I had a mass in the left breast that was 3.9 cm, part fibroadenoma and part cancer. When it was removed the final measurement was 2.2 cm cancer.

Caari

Thank you Summer. You have given me hope. Are you considered cured now or remission? I typically find that patients are pretty well educated, in some cases more so than some of the doctors they see, so, I feel it is better to post here than to google things like "irregular retroareolar mass"

This is terrifying.

SummerAngel

It's true that many patients are well educated, but it's always best to do your own research into actual studies if possible (PubMed and similar sites). Your question made me chuckle, because the word "cured" can cause many of the women here to get fired up. Typically, after treatment, we're considered "in remission" and many women will hear the word "cured" from their doctors. The reality is that many of us ARE cured by our treatment, but we can't know that for a fact, because sometimes the cancer returns many years later. For my particular case, with grade 1 low Oncotype tumors, I can be quite confident that I will never experience a return of the cancer. I am not concerned about it nor do I worry about it (not that worrying would help things even if I had a high risk for recurrence). I have a near-90% chance of being cured at this moment, and those are good odds! It's scary early on, but keep in mind that the majority of us will be treated and then go on to live normal lives. Also keep in mind that a large mass, even if it is cancer, doesn't necessarily indicate a worse prognosis. Even with tumors on both sides and larger tumors than many, my type of cancer was a low threat and I didn't even need chemo.

MTwoman

Hi Caari, It is absolutely possible for a mass to be have both malignant and benign components. I had a "complex cystic mass" that had DCIS and some "other" tissue in it. That was the lump that motivated me to get checked out. I also had 2 other "areas of concern" that only showed up on my MRI. They were also DCIS (my architecture pattern tends to be multi-focal). I know the waiting is horrible! ((hugs))

MinusTwo

Caari - I'm one of those who doesn't like the word cured. I had "simple" DCIS. I had a double mastectomy - thank heavens because the "good" breast also had DCIS and tumors. I had reconstruction. Woopee - I got on with my life. Yes, I knew in the back of my mind that you are always at risk of breast cancer coming back - but really, I was super healthy and they got clear margins & clean nodes. Two years after the first surgery, I found a lump under my collarbone - a recurrence to a lymph node. Only now it was IDC.

long story short, the treatments can certainly take you to NED (no evidence of disease). You can certainly live your life and never have any recurrence and die at age 90 of something else. But that's the only way you'll know that you were cured - when you die of something else. In the mean time, you can stay NED for the rest of your life.

This is not to scare you, but just a fact. I agree that you should probably stay off google. There is lots of old information, some that is just wrong and it's frankly scary. I hope that your biopsy results don't take too much longer and that they are B-9. We'll be thinking of you.

Caari

Thanks everyone. I have noticed a lot of the signatures, in some cases, many years go by and then there is a new diagnosis so it makes sense that the word cured is for minor infections and not cancer. I wonder how often it is that a mass is partially cancerous and partially benign? I am so worried about the size of this thing. I should know by tomorrow or Friday either way. You all show many details in your signatures. Size, type, ER/PR/HER2+, stage, in some cases oncotype. I have researched all of these things. When the pathology report comes back, if it is indeed cancer, can I expect that these details will be included in the report or do you need additional testing to find out additional details? I just want to be prepared so that I know what to ask if it comes to that. Thank you all very much for the information. I find comfort in learning more so I can be prepared. It makes the waiting a bit easier. Again, thank you so much!

MTwoman

Caari,

The pathology report takes anywhere from a couple of days to a week or so (different labs have different work loads). For me, the ER/PR came quickly, but they sent out the HER2, so my first path report listed ER-/PR- but HER2 as incomplete and I got an amended report a week or so later that included it. It might have taken longer as the immunohistochemistry test got an "equivocal" value, so they actually did another more sensitive test called FISH ( Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is a test that "maps" the genetic material in a person's cells. This test can be used to visualize specific genes or portions of genes. FISH testing is done on breast cancer tissue removed during biopsy to see if the cells have extra copies of the HER2 gene.) Good luck and ((hugs))

SummerAngel

To add to MTwoman's reply, you also won't know the exact stage with the initial report, either, although some doctors will put an initial stage on their report. The actual stage comes after surgery. The Oncotype test takes quite a while as well.

Caari

Thank you ladies. I got the call today. It is a Fibroadenoma which I will need surgery for because of the size of it, but, I am so relieved.

SummerAngel

That's fantastic news, I'm so happy for you!