Need Advice

metsnj123

All,

My gf (33 years old) was just diagnosed with breast cancer two days ago. We are obviously scared and hoping for the best outcome. We have our first appoinment with the surgeon next week. My concern is that the lump is fairly large (>1 inch). Does anyone know if this is of greater concern?

Also, I would appreciate any advice in general as we prepare for our appointment next week. The thought of possibly losing her is terrifying.

Thank you

Ingerp

Size is factored in for determining the stage but are you sure it’s one inch? Measurements are giin terms of centimeters. Also, you can see from looking around this site that breast cancer is usually treatable. Try not to get ahead of yourselves. Conventional wisdom is that this is the toughest time—when there’s still so much that’s unknown. It gets easier once you have a diagnosis and treatment plan. In the meantime, stay positive, figure out some distractions, and deal with things as they happen.

windingshores

There are many different forms that breast cancer can take and until you and your GF have more information, try not to imagine the worst. There will be pathology results on size, grade, HER2, hormonal responsiveness and other factors. There is also a test called the Oncotype Dx that is used to determine whether chemo is needed or useful, and many now don't have chemo. 

Try to find ways to be distracted, as the other poster said, things like taking walks and watching movies help. If anxiety is high, either of you could get a few Ativan to get you through.

It does sound like maybe the lump is 1 cm, not one inch, so check that out.

Good luck!

Anonymous

Size doesn't matter so much in this disease. It's grade (how aggressive it is), lymph node status, etc. that also makes somewhat of a difference, and also the type of BC matters. Try to think of this dx as just another disease for now--like diabetes, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis--all can take our lives IF we don't treat them, but we can live with them and often treatment for BC can make it go away for the rest of our lives. Cancer isn't/shouldn't be the terror that it was in the 20th c. but the stigma still exists. It is a treatable, curable in some instances disease and there is so much more out there to eradicate it now. I hope you'll check back with us and let us know more about her status. We all want to help each other and there's so much good information and advice on this site. It's possible she just needs surgery to remove the problem and then nothing else. The wait for more info is the hardest, but once you get info you'll be able to come back here and ask more questions and get some good answers that will help you both get through this.

Hugs,

Claire in AZ

beach2beach

The size doesn't necessarily mean it's worse. Some bigger tumors are grow more slowly and are less agressive while some smaller ones come back as highly aggressive. Unfortunately it's all a waiting game until more info is given.

Glad she has you on her side, interested and caring.

edwards750

So sorry about your GFF. I’m sure you are both terrified. BC is an insidious disease but it’s also treatable.

I also wondered about the size too because it’s not typically measured by inches. The grade is a factor because typically the higher the grade the more aggressive the cancer.

But as others have said it’s too early in the process to really know what she is dealing with. It truly is the worst time - not knowing. Rest assured once more details are revealed the process moves a lot quicker.

We all know you are worried and that’s understandable but try not to imagine the worst case scenario. BC is no longer an automatic death sentence. We are all proof of that.

So keep the faith and keep us posted.

Diane

Newfromny

I’m new here first post and scared , met with the oncologist for the first time today said I should get a Pet scan but if anything turns up the treatment would change. What does that mean?

Moderators

Newfromny, we are sorry you have also had to join us here. You may find this page helpful that describes what a PET scan can be used: PET Scan. It sounds like they just want to have all the information before determining a course of treatment. Hang in there and keep us posted!

illimae

It’s a bit early and many details are still unknown like ER/PR, HER2 status, type of BC but for now I’d say RESIST the urge to google and get info about options and best case scenario from the Oncologist.

metsnj123

All, sorry for the confusion regarding size. I was going by what we viewed as visible. The surgeon informed us today that it is 5 cm and thinks it is most likely rapidly growing. Our appointment is on Tuesday with the surgeon but she informed us on the phone that we will possibly need to do chemo before surgery to reduce the size and prevent it from spreading. Please provide me with any advice that you have available. We are obviously further terrified.

hapa

Chemo is typically very effective on fast growing cancers. I did chemo. It was actually not that big of a deal. It was terrifying at the time because I'd never done it before but once I got to the 5th and 6th rounds my anxiety about chemo had largely subsided. By then of course I was stressing about surgery - I was having BMX with pre pec implant recon - and that also turned out to be not that big of a deal. Right now I'm freaking out about radiation and I'm hopeful that in a few months I'll be reassuring people here that rads is not that big of a deal either. Best of luck to you and your girlfriend. The beginning is the worst part. Once you see an oncologist and have a treatment plan together you'll feel better.

illimae

I agree with hapa, chemo first is the protocol in some cases, it was in mine. Also, while chemo can be scary, I found it much easier than anticipated, I worked (except the day of infusion) and even did my first 5k walk. When finished, my tumor was reduced to just a small cluster of cells.

Anonymous

I echo hapa, chemo is more effective on aggressive cancers. I did the whole "kitchen sink" treatment because I wanted to look back and know I did everything to try to stop the disease in its tracks, in case it ever did come back. I wanted no regrets.

Fast-growing and size still doesn't mean a death sentence: far from it. Try to find posts here where women had similar dxes as your girlfriend's, and take heart from their stories. They got through it, and so will you. I'm thinking once you know stage and treatment plans, you can start talking to the posters over at those discussion boards.

Meanwhile, you'll both get through this! I'm positive in a year you'll look back and say, wow, that was awful, but we're done, and have a wonderful life ahead. Because you do.

Hugs

Claire in AZ

Anonymous

newfrmny: I'm so sorry that you have to join us, but you'll find good information here. So many of us are years out from the same place you are now. Try to find good stories here, and let them help support you while you find out more about what's recommended for your treatment.

PET scans show any activity that might indicate a problem elsewhere in your body and the scan was easy. I remember mine seemed to last about 1.5 hours, including pre-scan prep, etc.. You should get one if your doc says you should.

Be sure to prep for the test correctly--I remember I wasn't supposed to eat any carbohydrates or sugar 24 hours before, because sugars, etc. can cause false positive results.

PET scans are terrifying but hopefully your doc will call with good results after you have yours. I nearly fainted with relief when my PET can back clear.

Ultrabeauty

I am new here, 68 yr old just diagnosed with invasive breast cancer 0.8 centimeter. Had a lumptectomy lymph nodes clear. My oncologist did not offer pet scan for me. Should I ask for one, so very confused, wants me to have radiation but am afraid because I am a long term smoker and worry about my lung being involved from radiation and finding out later cancer shows up in my lung from the radiation treatment.

edwards750

Ultrabeauty - I had IDC Stage 1b, Grade 1. I had a lumpectomy and 33 radiation treatments. My oncotype score was 11. I was on Arimidex for 1 year and Tamoxifen for 4 years. I was 7 years out last August. My tumor was in my left breast which is closest to the heart so the techs were extra careful. Targeting only the affected area has greatly improved over the years.

You and I are in the same age group. I too am a smoker and knew the possible SEs of radiation like lung scarring but I never had a pet scan and so far there has been no damage to my lungs from radiation. There is scar tissue but that’s normal whether I smoked or not. My oncologist never ordered a pet scan and she did know I smoked.

While it’s a concern as to damage to your lungs I wouldn’t panic about having a pet scan done. Have faith in your doctors to do the tests and scans they deem necessary.

When I had my lumpectomy however, the anesthesiologist was irritated my BS didn’t order an EKG. I had one a few years before the surgery that was fine but they had the records on microfiche so he did one. In surgery the nurse said she had to get my oxygen level up but as soon as I took a deep breath she said oh okay. Since then my oxygen level is 98-99%. Most smokers are 95%.

I’ve had a chest X-ray a few years ago that the radiologist said was normal. I did have lung nodules but they were scar tissue. I know smoking damages your lungs so I’m trying to kick the habit but in the meantime just make sure your doctors are aware you smoke and take the necessary precautions as needed.

The effects of radiation might not show up for years but so far, so good for me. Hope they will be for you too.

Diane

Moderators

Hi Ultrabeauty-

We just wanted to welcome you to our community here at BCO. We're sorry you find yourself here, but we hope you find this to be a supportive place. Edwards750 has some good advice! We know this is a scary time, we're all here for you!

The Mods

WC3

Ultrabeauty:

If they do a PET scan, they usually combine it with a CT scan and call it a PET/CT. They typically don't like to do these unless they have a compelling reason to do so, because it's a lot of radiation. 8 years worth of background radiation, and if they were to do them as part of the staging process for all cancers, then the rates of additional cancers from the PET/CTs would sky rocket. So they typically only do them if they have reason to believe the cancer has spread or if the person is already known to have stage IV cancer and they use the PET/CT to monitor it.

Ultrabeauty

Thank you for your replies I really appreciate the advice. Totally a confusing time.

AliceBastable

Ultrabeauty, I'm your age and smoked for about five decades. I was still smoking when I had my lumpectomy and re-excision this summer. The MO ordered a CT chest scan w/o contrast before the lumpectomy to make sure my heart and lungs were okay. They were, just a little normal wear and tear stuff, but that scan caught something on top of my kidney and I had to get scheduled for an abdominal scan, this time with contrast. Somewhere in this complicated summer, I met with the RO and he said I should quit smoking before radiation. Then I met with the urologist, who said I HAD to quit before the very major surgery to remove the whole kidney - and that smoking was a major factor in the formation of that cancer, which was 7 cm. So he gave me a patch prescription, which I procrastinated on for a while, but finally stopped smoking on September 10th, the week before my radical nephrectomy. I stayed on the patch for the entire step one, and most of step two, then no longer bothered with it. I don't actually crave cigarettes, although I'll have occasional moments when I'll think, "Oh, at this point, I would usually have a smoke." Then I take a deep breath and forget about it. It really wasn't that hard (so far) and I haven't done anything like avoid places I smoked or anything like that. Now, I have gained some weight, but I had lost a lot, mostly due to the kidney cancer I guess, so I'm kind of in the process of finding my new metabolism with that problem gone. And I started doing stress eating before starting rads, plus all that Halloween candy - all the usual excuses. So I need to work on the weight, but it's a fairly manageable amount, about 10 - 12 pounds. I'm one of those people who really enjoyed smoking and hadn't tried to quit in a looong time, so if I can do this, trust me, it's doable.

Ultrabeauty

Thank you for the encouragement. I had quit for 8 years about 12 years ago and gained 50 lbs so I started again. Think once I really commit to quitting I will be able to. Also I am walking 5 days a week which I wasn't doing before so hopefully that will help with weight gain.