Information on my mother's cancer

JPT

Hi,

I was wondering if you could provide a summary of my mother's cancer please, i.e. how likely is it to be successfully treated.

Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, Grade 2, 12mm tumour, no axilla adenopathy, ER+, PR+ and Her2-.

This tumour was discovered during an annual screening mammogram.

Any information on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

JPT

MelissaDallas

Until her final results are in after surgery as to actual (not estimated) tumor size, node status and stage there really isn’t enough information for specifics at this point. Also depends on what treatments are recommend post surgery vs. recommended treatments agreed to and done

MountainMia

MelissaDallas is right, you need to wait until after surgery for complete pathology to know. That said, a 12 mm tumor is 1.2 centimeters. That's less than half an inch, so it's not very big. Grade 2 means it is neither particularly slow-growing nor particularly aggressive. Her doctor can explain more, but that is a start.

exbrnxgrl

Most importantly, please remember that none of us are doctors! We are breast cancer patients who can talk about personal experiences but I think you are asking us to venture into an area that is best explored with medical professionals. Take care

Rebalilly

JPT

My dx was at age 60. 1.1 cm, IDC, Estrogen positive 95%, progestin positive 70%, Her2- Grade 2 no lymph involvement

My Oncotype score, which I had to wait for before they could determine is chemo was needed, was 18. Low enough that I did not need chemo. Your mom will probably have this test.

My treatment plan: biopsy, lumpectomy, radiation 20 times, Tamoxifen because of estrogen positive, could not do Aromatese Inhibitor due to osteoporosis. Reclast to treat osteoporosis.

Radiation was easy for me. I kept my breast soaked in creams. Had a little discoloration that is healing ( two weeks from last treatment). Was tired for the last couple treatments and first week after treatments but ok now.

Tamoxifen makes me thirsty but other than that, no problem so far.

Reclast infusion was fine. No problems so far.

I had a cancer genetics test run and had nothing abnormal show up.

Going forward, not sure about how many mammograms they will require per year or mri’s or ultrasounds still waiting for the doctor to let me know

Treatment plan for your mom will be based on many things (including her Er Pr Her2 status), Oncotype score, age, other health factors, etc. She has good things - smaller tumor, Er Pr positive, Her2- no lymph. Will say some prayers for her and hope her treatment plan is as simple as possible.

Hope that helped.

moth

Assuming she has no distant metastases right now, treatment is relatively straightforward

The word success is the tricky one. Nobody can say the patient is cured. You're cured when you die in old age.of something else. ~30% of early stage breast cancer recurs as metastatic disease which right now is definitely not curable. The oncologist can often give a risk profile that is specific to her but at the end of the day, we just didn't know why some people get recurrence. .

You can see some stats for women with her size and type of cancer on the Predict site

https://breast.predict.nhs.uk/

Once you have a treatment plan and things start moving forward, everything gets easier.

Best wishes

kathabus

My cancer was found through an annual mammogram, as well. I was told 8mm tumor, no lymph nodes. After surgery we learned that it was actually a 25mm tumor with lymph node involvement. I don't tell you this to alarm you....I still have an excellent prognosis all things considered....but it for sure changed my treatment plan. You truly don't know what you are dealing with until after surgery. In my mind, her oncotype score will be important to get the whole picture. Glad they found it. Hoping for the best news possible for your mom! Sounds like the odds are in her favor. Keep us posted.

edwards750

We all know first hand how anxious you are about your mom’s cancer and how hard it is to wait but until she has more information you will have to.

Our personal experiences can shed some light on her stats but the thing is BC isn’t one size, fits all.

I had a lumpectomy in 2011 and when the Path report came back it showed a micromet in my SN. My BS was surprised, I was devastated. He thought I would get chemo but my MO ordered the Oncotype test, a test I hope your mom gets. My score came back@11 so I dodged chemo. 8% chance of a recurrence. I was 9 years out this month.

There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about her DX. A lot has changed since I was DX for the better.

Btw I had IDC, Grade 1, Stage 1b.

Keep the faith and keep us posted.

Diane

JPT

Thank you so much to everyone. Your words of support, information and advice is priceless. I can't imagine what it must be like personally to go through these journeys, but your willingness and kindness to give up your time offering support to others is truly inspiring.

I completely understand your comments regarding waiting until surgery is complete and I will definitely keep you updated as to my mum's progress.

Until then, thank you again for your support.

JPT