Newly Diagnosed IDC

Brneyegrl6608

I have a million thoughts and emotions running through me right now. Just need a few questions answered and maybe some links to information. Just diagnosed with IDC, grade II, est -, prog-, her2 -. On US the tumor measures 1.9 x 0.8 cm and the lymph nodes look good on the US. The nurse navigator that was assigned to me says that I will definitely have chemo because of the triple negative status. First question- should I get an MRI before surgery? The lump wasn't seen on mammogram even though it was palpable due to dense breast so my fear is that there is more in that breast not seen or in the other breast. Second, any info on what triple negative means. Third, any info/advice on how to tell my kids. I have four daughters (20, 14, 13, 10). Thank you for your help

ElaineTherese

Hi!

There are specific boards that focus on just triple negative cancer. You should check them out! Being triple negative means that your cancer is not being "fed" by estrogen (ER/PR) or by an over-expression of the HER2 protein. That means that chemo is the systemic treatment available to you to wipe out the cancer cells floating around in your bloodstream and/or lymph system. (Women who are ER+ can also do hormonal therapy; women who are HER2+ can also do targeted therapies like Herceptin and Perjeta.)

Did the nurse practitioner say that you'd be doing chemo or surgery first? Increasingly, women with triple negative cancer do chemo first. If you do chemo first, your medical oncologist (MO) will probably scan to see whether or not the chemo is working. She might do a pre-chemo MRI and a post-chemo MRI. Or, she might just rely on ultrasounds. You can certainly ask about an MRI; just make sure your insurance covers it because you don't want a surprise bill for a couple of thousand dollars. Best wishes!

Brneyegrl6608

Thank you for the info. I will definitely make sure the insurance covers the MRI. The nurse navigator assigned to me did say I might do chemo first but because it is small they may do surgery first. That's a good question to ask. Thank tou