Just diagnosed. IDC.

KWilli

I was diagnosed yesterday with IDC, everything went pretty quickly to this point. I felt a lump, went to the doc May 31. First mammogram ever, ultrasound followed. Biopsy on June 14. Diagnosis June 25. Manitoba has a program called "In Sixty"; it's an initiative to ensure suspicion to first treatment within 60 days. Impressive stuff, in my opinion.

I have a copy of the pathology report from the biopsy; not a whole lot of information.

Clinical Data: Right 11 o'clock, 2cm from nipple. Radian 2C. Calcifications pleomorphic. Irregular hypoechoic solid mass. Size of lesion 4cm maximal diameter. The silver lining appears to be that there is a "borderline" lymph node with a cortex measuring up to 3mm and several other benign lymph nodes with thin cortices present.

Awaiting an appointment with the surgeon on July 3 which I can only assume will give me further information regarding the rest (stage, grade, ER/PR/HER2), treatment options etc.

Whew. It's a lot to take in, isn't it? My husband and I told the kids last night (they're 8 and almost 12). That was a real stinker.

Thank you for listening. All this waiting to get to this. I'm really just living in limbo now; it's not an easy place for me to be. I am a "person of action". I was reflecting yesterday on how you would expect the world to come to a grinding halt when you hear "you have cancer"; it felt really odd because everything just carries on. As it should.

Moderators

KWilli,

We're so very sorry to hear of your diagnosis, but we are so glad you've already established yourself in our wonderful Community and are receiving the information and support you need! You're sure to find this space an invaluable resource as you navigate the rest of your diagnosis and treatment. We're all here for you!

We know it's ovewhelming right now, as you try to put the puzzle pieces together and focus on a path, but just know that with knowledge comes power, and the more you find out about what you're facing and how to treat it, the better you'll start to feel.

We look forward to helping you along the way -- please keep us posted as you find out more and of course ask as many questions as you want -- we are here to help!

--The Mods

OCDAmy

The beginning is the absolute hardest part. The not knowing the full picture is really hard and causes a lot of anxiety. Once you have the full picture and a plan of attack, I promise it gets easier. Hugs to you, we are all here to help.

Ingerp

You sound calm and steady. Time will continue to pass and you will get tothe other side of this. This site is a wonderful resource—lots of good information and understanding, sympathetic ears. Hang in there and let us know how things progress

Careninnj

Hello, i just joined the forum today. I was just diagnosed with IDC as well. Im 43 years old. I have a 15 year old and 13 year old. I meet with my breast surgeon tomorrow. My mother died of inflammatory breast cancer, but that was over 21 years ago..im just scared. Overwhelmed. Everything. I just wanted to let u know your not alone.

Caren

Moderators

Caren -- welcome to you! As you can see, we're a very supportive and helpful group here. We're all here for you, too!

Please feel free to start your own thread so others can welcome you, too, and help answer any questions you may have about your diagnosis or upcoming treatment.

We look forward to hearing more from you soon!

--The Mods

KWilli

Thank you for all of your kind words and support.

Caren; I'm sorry to hear of your diagnosis. Sounds like we have a lot in common! I will be 43 at the end of the year, we both have younger kids. You're not alone either! I think scared went out the window for me yesterday. We have a name;we just need to know how to move forward, right?!

Ki

Careninnj

Its very surreal. I always knew this was a possibility because of my mom. But i never really thought it would happen, thats stupidity on my part. Tomorrow ill learn more. One second i think ill be fine, two seconds later im thinking of the worst possible outcomes. I dont even know if i should tell everyone i know. Or just family and close friends. Im all over the place. Im just thankful for a site like this. Kwilli can i ask where u live?

KWilli

I replied; I guess it didn’t post!

I’m in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Where are you??

Mom_of_two

Hi KWilli...fellow Manitoban here! So sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I was diagnosed December 2017 (44 at the time) and telling my kids (11 and 13) was the hardest. Luckily my kids seemed to lose themselves in their own little worlds quite quickly. They also helped to distract me from the worry by immersing myself in the day to day routine of being a mom.

Unfortunately, I did not learn much from my biopsy report. I think just ER/PR. Grade and Her2 came from lumpectomy pathology. Do you know who your surgeon will be?

I just finished 8 rounds of chemotherapy and am starting to feel like my old self. It's true when they say that once you have a plan in place, things do get better.

Take care.

Dina7142

I was diagnosed June 4, 2018. IDC 1 cm and appeared to be no lymph node involvement. I am a Veteran, so I go to a VA hospital about 3 hrs away. Met with my surgeon, loved her, and decided if all went as planned, Lumpectomy and radiation. Pathology report showed ER-PR positive. So thats good. Dr. insisted on MRI, just to be sure. MRI June 22, and low and behold second mass 1.6 cm right under the nipple. Now mastectomy and no saving the nipple. Surgery scheduled July 12, so I know how you feel I went from I don't have cancer to I have cancer in a little over a month. But I am in warrior mode.

KWilli

Warrior mode. I like that. I'm not sure if you've seen combat; however, either way it must be surreal that you're now having to wage war against your own body to survive. What a load of garbage. You're clearly a badass; so keep that attitude, it will serve you well.

Mom_of_two: I'm curious about lumpectomy vs mastectomy. Were you given a choice? Did you get presented with options? What hospital/cancer centre were you at? In Winnipeg? I'm seeing Dr. Gillespie. I've read stellar reviews, so I hope she's staying her course! I'm glad to hear that you're feeling like your old self! That's positive stuff.

Mom_of_two

They will give you the choice depending on the size of the lump. Mine was small enough that I could do either. Lumpectomy has the same outcome as mastectomy but with a quicker recovery. I still struggled with the choice in the 3 weeks i waited for surgery but ultimately went with the lumpectomy. I think the other factor was the lymph nodes...they would have removed all with a mastectomy vs only the sentinel nodes...increasing my chances of developing lymphedema down the road.

I was sent to the breast health centre for biopsy and then surgical consult/surgery with Dr Rivard. Had surgery done at HSC and chemo at St. Boniface Hospital (10 minute drive from our house). My oncologist is Dr. Grenier..though I've only seen her once..Was followed by a family practitioner in oncology during my chemo (Dr Beshara).

You sound like you have a sound head on your shoulders and tackling this head on. That's great! Feel free to shoot me any questions...either here or through pm if you'd like. Every region is different as far as how they treat this. One thing that I found disappointing was that Manitoba doesn't pay for Oncotype...a few provinces do. Although in my case it didn't have much bearing since I had 1/2 positive sentinel nodes.

KWilli

thank you for sharing with me. I appreciate it.

Sounds like we’re not too far from each other, we’re not far from St B either; although we could be in opposite directions!

I’m going to do some research regarding oncotype and sentinel nodes. It’s all such a foreign language...

KWilli

spoke with BS the other day; she has told me the lump appears to be 7-8 cm; I'm triple negative so I have now gone from "super common" to more rare; bonus is that TNBC responds well to chemo. I'm going to head on over to the TNBC threads.

I hope everyone is doing well. Thank you for all of your support. xo