Microinvasion in sentinel node

Staceybee

I just got my pathology report back after 8 days of high anxiety after lumpectomy for ILC. Surgeon put a positive spin on it though things that worry me. While mass was 1.1cm as expected and she said clear margins, there is a lot of LCIS which she says is not cancer and counts as a clear margin. Also 1 of 2 sentinel lymph nodes removed had 1mm microinvasion. That sounds pretty scary to me but she was upbeat. She said she would still consider me stage 1 vs 2, though I think she was being generous to calm me. Now I have2 more weeks of waiting to see oncologist. If anyone has any experience - good, bad or just important to know about dealing with microinvasion of a node, I would appreciate it. Ditto with regard to all this LCIS I still have after the lumpectomy. Thank you!

Michi

I just wanted to reach out and say I’m sorry you’re going through this, it sounds like since it was indeed a micro invasion it was caught super early, so that’s great news. I had a BMX may 21st for LCIS and ALH, both are pre markers for cancer, though neither considered cancer. I am awaiting my final pathology myself, but it is my understanding many times LCIS is thought to develop into ILC or often times found adjacent to the tumor. I chose the BMX because I am a high anxiety person myself and only 34, didn’t want to deal with high risk screening for the rest of my life. One big factor in my decision is that LCIS is considered to be multifocal, meaning it’s very difficult to achieve clear margins since its often times in both breast and just hiding on imaging, and even if they do achieve clean margins it can develop at any point. Ultimatelythis is what led me to my decision of the BMX, unlike a tumor which you can see and take out, LCIS is basically masses of abnormal cells.

Staceybee

Thank you for your thoughtful response. I am glad to hear that you have found the right path personality to deal with the risks from your LCIS and that you can have peace of mind as a result. I never knew that I was at high risk until the cancer showed up. Now that I have the pathology report after surgery there is all kind of precancerous tissue. My surgeon is still not recommending a MX but I am still thinking about it

Michi

In my case I was told I was taking a machine gun to a fly, but for my personality I knew I had to do it this way. I also have two very young children who are still very much dependent on me and I can say with a high likelihood if they were adults I would be making another decision. I think it’s important to talk to your doctor in your case about the type of tumor and it’s score/risk for reoccurrence, taking into consideration the LCIS and how much/if this increases your reoccurrence risk.

What I can say about the LCIS after talking to multiple doctors at major cancer centers in Boston, is that people aren’t super educated about this condition. I was citing more case studies than the medical oncologist had available, this made me nervous; it’s such a small number of people who are actually diagnosed with this, I’m afraid they don’t truly know the risk and how it plays into the development of cancer later on or the reoccurrence of cancer. That being said you really need to do the research and be your own advocate when it comes to LCIS (sadly) . Also, if you haven’t already do genetic testing, you can tell a remarkable amount about risk for cancers and different types, reoccurrence etc.