New lump!

Debra

My mother also a Deb was diagnosed in 06 as well. She had no node involvement and the Dr's felt they caught it early and she would be great!  We were unaware at the time that she was TN as well.  She was rediagnosed with cancer again in November of 08.  We of course were devistated.  We did re-search the first time around but were not aware of the TN prognosis since we did not know she was TN.  I think she was on Taxol the first time (4 treatments and then 36 rads).  With her second round she was on Taxotere and has just recently been switched to Gemzar.  She does take the Avastin along with the chemo and Zometa.  Her cancer has spread unfortunatlely to her lungs, chest cavity, liver and bones.  She did have a bout with depression and most recently was hospitalized with fluid in the chest cavity.  Since her release she is doing much better.  You need to go at this with your horns out and fight this beast.  You can do this. 

Deb

Is yours this time a new primary or a recurrence? Is it in the same breast? Usually the second time they cannot use the same drug they did first time. What was your first time treatment? Did you get a mast. or lumpectumy?

A 'recurrence" is the same receptor no matter where it is located when it returns.  New "primary" is if the cancer has a new receptor or a different kind of bc.

Flalady

Hi Debra,

My mom has the almost-exact same dx time and waiting time as yours. She had her first bc in mid 06, and then she felt a soft lump above her breast below the collarbone on the same side where the 1st bc was. When I knew about it, it was already three months after she noticed it, and it was about egg size visually. The whole referral process from onc to surgeon then back to onc is the same here in Kaiser SF. It takes about 3 weeks from primary doctor's referral to the first needle biopsy report came out. Then it takes another 3 weeks from second needle biopsy (they didn't get enough sample from the first biopsy) to PET scan to being contacted by the onc. It was one week before Thanksgiving, and my mom is still doing perfectly fine although still having treatment.

TN grows fast, but perhaps it doesn't justify how much damage it can make. As long as you don't feel any pain or discomfort physically, let your mind calm down and relax. I understand how it feels while waiting. Hang in there! The result can come back negative.

I with you Mimsi I've been able to feel my disease recurrences because of pain and soreness long before the tumor shows up.  Don't give up until you feel comfortable about their answers to what is going on.   I hope that this is really just a B9 bump. 

Flalady

Anytime the same receptor disease returns it is a recurrence.  Talk to anyone who is stage IV 95% is a recurrence of the same disease.  Why would movement change it to a new primary? Our disease is labeled by receptor not location.

Flalady

When cancer returns: How to cope with cancer recurrence

Use lessons from your initial treatment to give you confidence and strength as you face the anger and fear that comes with a cancer recurrence. By Mayo Clinic staff Your cancer is back, and so are the shock and fear that came with your first diagnosis. The uncertainties are back, too, and you wonder about more cancer treatment and about your future. The distress you feel is normal - some say the second cancer diagnosis can be more distressing than the first. What is a cancer recurrence?When cancer returns after a period of remission, it's considered a recurrence. *****A cancer recurrence happens because, in spite of the best efforts to rid you of your cancer, some cells from your cancer were left behind. These cells could be in the same place where your cancer first originated, or they could be in another part of your body. These cancer cells may have been dormant for a period of time, but eventually they continued to multiply, resulting in the reappearance of the cancer. A cancer recurrence means it's the same cancer coming back after some period of time. In rare cases you may be diagnosed with a new cancer that's completely unrelated to your first cancer. This is referred to as a second primary cancer. Where does cancer recur?Your cancer can recur in the same place it was originally located, or it can migrate to other parts of your body. Recurrence is divided into three categories: Local recurrence. This means the cancer reappears in the same place it was first found, or very close by. The cancer hasn't spread to the lymph nodes or other parts of the body. Regional recurrence. A regional recurrence occurs in the lymph nodes and tissue located in the vicinity of your original cancer. Distant recurrence. This refers to cancer that has spread (metastasized) to areas farther away from where your cancer was first located. Where your cancer recurs depends on your original cancer type and stage. Some cancer types commonly recur in specific areas. How are cancer recurrences diagnosed?Cancer recurrences are diagnosed just like any other cancer. Your doctor might suspect a cancer recurrence based on certain tests, or you might suspect a recurrence based on your signs and symptoms. After your last round of treatment, your doctor probably gave you a schedule of follow-up exams to check for cancer recurrences. You were probably told what signs and symptoms to be alert for that might signal a recurrence. Watching for a cancer recurrence is often very different from screening for the original cancer. And the goals of the two are different. For most forms of cancer, a local recurrence may still be curable, so early detection of a local recurrence is very important. For most cancers, a recurrence at a site distant from where the cancer first began means the chance of cure is not good. All cancers are different, so it's important to talk with your doctor about what type of cancer you have and what can be done if it recurs at a distance. This can guide what tests you undergo during routine checkups after your initial treatment. Can cancer recurrences be treated?Many gains have been made in the treatment of cancer. In many cases, local and regional recurrences can be cured. Even when a cure isn't possible, treatment may shrink your cancer to slow the cancer's growth. This can relieve pain and other symptoms, and it may help you live longer. Which treatment you choose, if any, will be based on many of the same factors you considered when deciding on your treatment the first time. Consider what you hope to accomplish and what side effects you're willing to endure. Your doctor will also take into account what types of treatment you had previously and how your body responded to those treatments. You might also consider joining a clinical trial, where you may have access to the latest treatments or experimental medications. Talk to your doctor about clinical trials that are available to you

Deb

If tumors have to have blood supplies, then how could they tell if there is vascular invasion or not? I heard someone saying on the board, that if there are blood supplies around the tumor, then there is likely that some cells are in the blood. If no blood supply, then it is no vascular invasion to start with. I am confused. They told me that I don't have vascular invasion. What does this then mean?

Fladlady

I think both tumor and B9 tumor need blood supply to grow because to grow they need oxgen which is only carried by blood. Thus, they have to do biopsy to see if B9 or not. Right?

Advancing Technology for Breast Cancer Detection

A thermal imaging system is being tested in an effort to reduce the number of breast biopsies.

Six hundred women are being recruited by the USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center to test a new, non-invasive technique researchers hope will more accurately detect breast cancer while reducing the number of breast biopsies.

Yuri Parisky, M.D., associate professor of radiology at the USC School of Medicine and a specialist in breast and oncological imaging, will lead the study.

Researchers will use the new medical imaging technology-called the thermal breast imaging system-to evaluate breast masses suspected of being cancerous. Then, the team will compare participants' thermal breast images with results from the biopsy to gauge the effectiveness of the new system.

Used as an adjunct to traditional screening methods such as mammography, "the technology may help us determine whether a mass or lesion in a woman's breast is malignant or benign," Parisky says.

Despite significant advances in the ability of radiologists to detect suspicious breast lumps in the last two decades, physicians still struggle with the fact that less than half of masses identified with the traditional screening methods turn out to be cancerous.

Currently, the only way to determine if a lump is cancerous with total accuracy is to surgically remove a small piece of the mass or lesion in a biopsy procedure and have a pathologist examine the tissue.

What's more, breast biopsies have become very common. A recent study in the Archives of Surgery reported that more than half a million women had breast biopsies in 1994 alone-making open breast biopsy the third most frequent surgical procedure performed by general surgeons. Yet, biopsy results show that as many as three-quarters of these women don't have cancer.

USC physicians hope the new imaging system will allow for more accurate diagnoses than traditional methods alone, while also decreasing the number of unnecessary biopsies.

"We're constantly looking for new tools to help us determine if something is malignant-without using surgery," Parisky says.

Researchers still don't know whether the thermal breast imaging system will allow them to do that, but they're encouraged by the results from pre-trial tests conducted at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

"We feel that thermal imaging could serve as a significant complement to current detection techniques," Parisky says.

The thermal imaging system has been adapted for medical use from an infrared-detecting technology used by the military to spot enemy tanks. The human body constantly releases heat, a portion of which takes the form of infrared radiation. The thermal imaging system uses a special infrared camera to record the amount of this type of heat that is emitted from the breast. With the aid of a computer, the imaging system can then create a three-dimensional map of breast, revealing areas with very slight differences in temperature. Theoretically, this map of "hotter" and "cooler" areas will help doctors discern between abnormal, cancerous and healthy breast tissue.

Using infrared technology to detect cancer is "based on the idea that malignant tumors give off more infrared radiation because they have high metabolism and more blood flowing to the area" than normal tissue, explains Parisky.

In addition to reducing the number of breast biopsy surgeries, the thermal breast imaging system may prove less uncomfortable for patients than mammography, since the breast does not have to be compressed during the procedure.

No one said that you would not have to have a biopcy.  The discussion was if thermal imaging would work to show the difference between b9 tumor's and cancer.  And it does as noted in article BY BLOOD INTAKE TO SITE.  Cancer tumors show large activity because of blood supply. Please research this techology and how it works.  If this shows blood activity at a "higher" level she could pressure her doctor's to quit waiting and get busy treating her.  This techology is moving forward as a tool to help diagnose bc. 

This can be a valuable tool if your doctor is putting you off.  I've used it and it worked.

With out having to say it I thought it was understood every living thing in our bodies have some kind of blood supply.  The key to the technology is the "increase" in blood supply.  And do ask your radiologist about the shape of a tumor they will tell you though know most cancer tumor's before they are biopsy. The key for then for them is the SHAPE because they can see blood supply with most patients tumors.

Here is another article from my local research hospital that is in trial

The CTI BCS 2100 is based on dynamic infrared imaging, a process in which an infrared

imaging camera captures and records a series of images over time in response to

changing air temperature. It will then determine if the infrared patterns show a profile

indicating a benign condition or patterns that may indicate malignancy. Dynamic infrared

imaging provides information about active processes, and provides different information

than x-rays, for example, which produce anatomical images that are not associated with

active processes. The CTI BCS 2100 provides dynamic infrared images and information

about the physiological processes occurring in the human breast over time

(approximately 3 minutes) in response to a cooling challenge. The BCS 2100 is designed

to obviate the need for some biopsies.

There are several physiologic features related to malignant tissue that may contribute to a

thermal or infrared signal that is higher than the infrared signal associated with benign

tissue. One feature that may contribute to an elevated infrared signal in malignant tissue

is increased blood flow in the area surrounding the malignancy. Studies using ultrasound

have reported increased blood flow in breast carcinomas compared to benign lesions.

One likely contributing factor is angiogenesis, the formation of new capillaries from

existing blood vessels, which supplies the nutrients required by a neoplasm. Although

angiogenesis is important to normal physiologic processes such as wound healing it also

plays a key role in tumor growth. Angiogenesis is linked to both the growth of breast

cancer as well as to its metastatic potential.

Another likely factor contributing to the infrared signal