Grade 3: how fast is fast?

There are no silly questions!!

I, too, have IDC with necrosis.  My oncologist says it isn't that big of a deal, but for him, he wanted me to get chemo, even though my Oncotype score was quite low at 14.  It's just one small factor or many, the the necrosis was enough to not just look at Oncotype, but at the size or the tumor and these other factors.  I also don't have lymph involvement, so I just had a lumpectomy in August..  I'm done with chemo and will start radiation in a few weeks.  So far so good!!

Hang in there and use this board.  You will learn lots and lots! 

Artemis

Same here...onc told me I probably had the cancer for 3-5 years and be patient a couple of weeks. Looking back over the last 7 months of treatment...I can't believe how much I have been through. I knew I was going to have 20 weeks of neo-adjuvant chemo but I needed the sentinel node dissection first. Felt like the world came to a sudden stop as I waited for the call that the first  procedure was on and I had the date to start chemo. The weight of the world was on me as I sat helpless waiting for the "healthy people" to get me scheduled. I want to start chemo so I could feel like I was doing something instead of waiting. This is the hardest part! Try to stay positive and be proactive. You are your best advocate!

I TOO HAVE GRADE 3 IDC. I AM SCHEDULED FOR AN MRI ON TUES. IF IM CORRECT IN MY UNDERSTANDING, THAT WILL DETERMINE THE STAGE. I RECEIVED THE RESULTS OF MY CHEST XRAY, AND IT WAS CLEAR. AND I DONT HAVE ANY LYMP INVOLEMENT. MY SURGEON WANTS TO DO SURGERY IN 10- 14 DAYS, FOLLOWED BY CHEMO. BEFORE I MAKE ANY OF THOSE DECISIONS, I WILL BE GETTING A SECOND OPINION. I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT AT UOFM ON MONDAY. I TOO AM FEARFUL OF THE SPEED THIS THING HAS. I HAD A MAMOGRAM IN JULY AND IT SHOWED NOTHING. BELIEVE ME YOU WILL BE HEARING FROM ME DAILY, AND THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THE SUPPORT. I WILL BE A SURVIVOR!!

My onc said it really depends on how the cancer acts in you everyone is different a cancer can double insize anywhere from 23 days to 100 days.  mine is growing fast was pea sized in oct in dec it was silver dollar sized

hugs to all, don't forget to ask questions

YES..when i was diagnosed, it was told to me that this was probably in me for about 7 years.I never skipped a mammo since i have this cancer strongly in my family.. maternal and paternal. sides. Also , said though there is  necrosis/comedo  and  have invasive ductal carcinoma,  grade 3, i have some time to make the right deciison etc. Not a year for it would be a greater stage and most likely invasive staged !!  am scheduled for surgery Jan. 20th and the waiting has been since before Thanksgiving!!!

This all could be different for everyone, i am no pro in this by any means.. this is just what i have learned for me thus far.

Jezza.. since you are long term survior, what treatment and surgery kind did you have. GOOD for you and still in here helping us new comers!!!

 Good to know this Sassa. Is the path report with this score come AFTER the surgery ? Good you had it all in enough time and to know it doubled in size in one month says alot also. You having a desire for the breast reduction saved ALOT for you!!!

Hi Donna.  My path report was different from my biopsy report also.  My tumor was grade 3 and very fast growing and was not on any previous mamo.  I felt it just about pea size right before Thanksgiving and it was 2 cm by Jan.  Had a delay in finding out I had a problem but after that things moved very quickly and had the mast and sentinel node biopsy done 10 days later.  Couldn't stand the thought of it continuing to grow and where it might be spreading.  That was 5 years ago almost exactly and I am doing great.  Had no nodes involved and did 4 rounds of chemo.  Am her2+++ but it was before herceptin was approved, darn it.  Your surgeon will be able to interpret your pathology report for you and the ladies here can also help.  Your onc can also help interpret it.  I had no choice but a mastectomy because to remove the tumor and malignant microcalcifications would have only left 1/4 of the breast and what would I do with 1/4 of a breast?  I'm glad I didn't have to do rads.  Good luck to you.

Artemis,  First of all there is no such thing as a silly question.  Well, maybe there is but not when bc is in the picture! I think there is information something to the effect of doubling every 90 days or something like that for tumors.  

Mammo missed my tumor last year which was 6 cm by the time it was dx by clinical exam by my gyno.  My oncologist explained to me that on mammo it is like trying to find a cotton ball in a cloud!  Sometimes, we just think these doctors are super people and they are "just" people... just like us!   They have been trained to do a job!  Sometimes, they probably get tired and everything looks alike after a while!  I have looked at lots of mammo films.  Easy to see how they get passed by!

They do say our cancers have been there for sometimes years before discovered.  Unfortunately, our medical tests are not as advanced as we would like to think.  The only tests we have -  pick up tumors, but not cancer cells.  Thermography will pick up hot spots which can indicate cells, but then we have no medical tests to confirm those indications.  On the other hand... the advantage to thermography is at least one can proceed with alternative therapies such as diet and supplements to help destroy the cancer cells.

Everyone has cancer cells in their body... and with a  healthy immune system, they are sought out and destroyed , but in a compromised immune system they are allowed to grow into tumors.  May I suggest to do lots of research.  I especially like Patrick Quillin Beating Cancer With Nutrition.  He is a former VP of Cancer Treatment Centers of America which unless you are very wealthy, most of us can't afford to go to.  My friend went there and is 10 years cancer free and she did it with supplements and nutrition after surgery.  (No chemo or rads!).  They helped guide her in her initial choices and then she went on her own sources from there. (They did recommend chemo and rads, but she declined having lost a sister to bc and witnessing the tx she experienced.)

I highly suggest to do lots of research and trust your heart.  I feel knowledge is power and we better have a back up.  Chemo does seem to be the first course of treatment in most progressive medical centers... again, because we have no tests that insurance will pay for that find cancer cells.

Good Luck but be your own advocate!

p.s.  you can Google Patrcik Quillin and read excerpt from his book.  I was able to get it from my public library.  (My onc approves of him!)

Hi

I am new here. I was diagnosed 15/12/08 with IDC Grade 3 stage 1  0/11 nodes, clear margins. I had a lumpectomy on 22/12/08. Since then, everything has been OK but Monday I noticed a lumpy area under the scar, just 3 weeks after the op. This feels quite hard and about the size of a large marble.  There is some bruising on my skin over it but I don't know if this is caused by a haematoma or me  keep rubbing at this thing that has appeared. Has anyone experienced this. I rang my breast care nurse who said that she thought it was a haematoma  and to leave it alone until I see the surgeon for follow up on the 26th.. I try to tell myself that nothing can grow THAT fast and it must be what the nurse says..... but I don't know for sure...

Has anyone been node neg but had bc mast elsewhere anyway?  Anyone had a pt scan and found something there even though they were node neg?

Cancer cells can travel through the blood stream  as well ( thats why chemo is given ).

There are woman who were diagnosed stage 1, no nodes with a good prognosis that developed mets. Then you have women with large tumors, bunch of nodes and are living their life fully.

I asked the same question , now I say the hell with it.

Thankyou DonnaDio for replying. Its good to know that there are  others that  have the same symptoms etc  and we can all relate to each other.

Did the cancer show up in your lymph nodes?