stage 1 bc

Hi Gwinda....sorry you had to join us but glad you found this web site!  It has great information and the women here are really helpful!

From the biopsy...do you know what type of cancer it is and if it is hormone positive?  Some of the information you won't know until the final pathology report after they take out the lump.

In my case I had a lumpectomy, they also tested my lymph nodes at the time to see if it was in them which it was not, I had a test on the tumor called an Oncotype which said I would not benefit from chemo.  I am just finishing up 33 radiation treatments and since mine is hormone postive I will be starting a medication for that. 

When you see the different Drs. try to have someone go with you and take notes.  I did a ton of research on this web site to stay one step ahead of what was going on.  You will have many choices to make along your journey....get a 2nd opinion if needed, ask the women here for advice, and go with your intuition.  It helped me at first to get files and calendars and just try to organize information...helped me feel more in control. Oh,....try to get copies of all your reports.  You will be seeing a lot of different Drs and it helped me to carry them around with me.

Wishing you the best and let us know what your plan is when you get one!

Wendy 

You need all of your pathology results before you can consider the various treatment options but that usually requires a lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy so that the tumor (type, stage and grade), lymph nodes, surgical  margins, and biological markers (ER, PR and HER2) can be thoroughly assessed.  Request that your medical oncologist send a tissue block to Genomic Health for the Oncotype DX Breast Cancer Assay.  My score was low (9 on a scale from 0 to 100) which meant I should not have chemo (more harm than benefit based on an analysis of 21 genes)  After much research and full discussions with two radiation oncologists at different medical institutions, I decided to have accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) which I completed on Feb.26, 2010.  Treatments are totally painless and the only side effects I had were slight reddening of the skin, minor swelling, minor tenderness at my incision site and an area of hardness at the surgical site.  APBI is a targeted radiation to sterilize the tumor bed of any microscopic cancer cells.  APBI consists of two treatments per day, six hours apart, for five consecutive days.  APBI versus whole breast irradiation (WBI) is currently being studied in a large clinical trial at over 300 institutions.  I chose APBI because my pre-surgical enhanced MRI showed no disease in either breast, just the 0.9 cm cancer in the left axillary tail which also has breast tissue.  The targeted therapy allowed the radiation oncologist to completely avoid radiation to my heart (a concern in left-sided breast cancers), limit radiation to just 3% of my left lung, and very limited radiation to the left breast.  Also, with WBI, because the entire breast is irradiated, if you get a recurrence, you have to have a mastectomy.  APBI leaves the option of lumpectomy and targeted radiation open should there be a recurrence.  Not everyone is a candidate for APBI but you might want to explore this option with a radiation oncologist with APBI experience.  Get all of the information you can, ask lots of questions, and make the best informed decision you can based on the specifics of your case.  Be your own advocate and don't be afraid to get a second or even third opinion before you decide on the appropriate course of therapy for you.  The process is an emotional roller coaster but gathering lots of information gave me a sense of control.  I am doing really well both physically and emotionally and I wish the same for you.         

My surgeon staged me before surgery.  She said there was only a 10% chance that it would be in my lymph nodes based on the size and type of cancer along with my age.  I was 59 at the time.

Roseann