If you have just been diagnosed....

My 66 y/o mother was recently diagnosed with bc and is just starting to get path reports back, etc.  Her mass is 11mm or 1.1cm  (lobular/milk ducts).  Her Doctor called today and said the path report came back and it is HR 2 postive.  Does anyone know if this is the same as HER 2 positive??  I read about hormone receptor postive and I'm not sure if this is what the doctor is referring to or not?  Any info would be great, thanks!

Monich~ Yes, after surgery you will know more about TX (treatment) plans, after surgery you will see a oncologist who will go over your tx with you- The waitng sucks, ask Dr for Xanax it will calm your nerves and help you get thru this, keep us posted on your surgery date we will walk you thru thus

Hi Bobbird, sorry your mom is going thru this, er and pr is the hormone receptors Her2 is the gene factor and is usually a more aggressive type BC (breast cancer) but is treatable, usually with hercepten and tykerb and other chemo TX- Im sure more ladies will be along to help answer your question better that are Her2 + we will be happy to answer any questions you have as your mom goes thru this, sounds like she has a wonderful caring daughter and is in good hands, hugs and warm wishes for you and your mom

Patty- Welcome to BCO a site no one wants to be part of, but glad you found us, If you click on the upper right hand cornor where it says, jump to forum, there is a list of differnt threads, there is a "breast reconstruction" site that may be helpful for you with woman who have gone thru recon or going thru it- Hope this helps, keep us informed on your surgery and any questions you may have ((((((((hugs)))))))))

angel hugs,

debbie

Debbie, Thanks so much for your response.  When she went last week to the doctors , they said "almost always"  the type of cancer she has was Estrogen +, so I guess we weren't expecting to hear it was HER2+.  The doctor  told her over the phone it was HR2+, so initially we thought that was different than HER2+, or at least hoping it was.  Her good friend has BC, with the HER2+ and is not doing well, it has spread to her brain.  So my mom is seeing that and it's hard.  Hopefully, they caught it early.  Thanks again for your well wishes. 

Hi Debbie,

Do you mean tested, as in tested for the HER2 gene?  or had mammogram?  I haven't been tested for the gene, Mom just found out a couple of days ago about the HER2+ status.  I am 40 and had a baseline mammogram at age 35, five years ago.  Is this something I will inherit from my mother?? 

sptmm2 ~ Wow, some of your description of what happened to you sounds eerily familiar to what I went through. In fact, I was so blindsided by the final pathology report at my surgical followup app't. (no one had told me that it might be different than what I'd already been told verbally)... I felt like I was in a weird nightmare I couldn't awaken from... that I must have been in an auto accident on the way to my surgeon's office, and I was unconscious and this was all just a bad dream.  I just could not seem to wrap my mind around it.

One thought... after your MRI, you may want to consider getting a second opinion.  That's what I did, and I ended up switching surgeons for my second surgery.  (My bio page gives a bit more of the story, if you're interested.)  And I remember asking my new medical team if it was normal for everything to feel so surreal -- like I was present, but this wasn't really happening to me -- which is what I think you mean by not envisioning yourself as a breast cancer patient.

You will feel much better when you have the full picture and a gameplan.  Waiting is so hard -- especially when it gets dragged out, the way it has for you.  I'm really glad you've found BCO, and I think being able to talk about what you're going through will be a huge help to you now.     Deanna

I am 39- healthy female with very little cancer in family.  I was diagnosed May 21st with R breast invasive adneocarcinoma- IDC- grade 3- ER+ PR+ Her +.  I was shocked, and stunned for days.  My son had just graduated from HS, and daughter from kindergarten.  After the initial shock, I thought OK-I can do this, but then every test seemed to get worse.  I had the MRI- which initially the tumor was less than 2 cm-  after the biopsy 4 cm- and hot spots in the R axillary and L breast as well.  I lost it-  I think I cried for days.  I had biopsy of R axillary lymph and L breast.  L breast negative, and R axillary positive.  I have a PET scan next week, and I am so scarred that it will reveal more.  I just need some good news so bad right now.  The plan is to start chemo next week after the port is placed, then in about four months double mastectomy with implants, then Herceptin for a year.  UGGHH!

Thanks Deanna, your experience sounds very similar to mine.  It is nice to know that other people feel the same way and I am not going nuts.  Hopefully within a week or two I will have all my answers and a treatment plan.  I just hope it is all good news from here on in!!

Hi, tgood ~ To date, your workup does sound like it's had some delays in it.  Are you sure it's the fault of the insurance company, or could there be a problem with your doctors getting requests submitted in a timely fashion?  If I was in your situation, I think at this point, since you now have a firm bc diagnosis, I would probably call the insurance company and ask how you can speed up the remaining approvals, so that you can get your surgery scheduled.

In most cases, by the time a bc lesion can be seen with any of the imaging techniques (mammo or u/s), it's been there several years, so waiting a few weeks to schedule surgery is rarely a concern, even though we all feel like we want it out immediately!  But as slow as your insurance company is, I would hate to see you now have to wait 3 to 4 weeks between each of the tests you mentioned, and then wait additional weeks for surgery.  That really starts to drag out...

Are you satisfied with the doctors you've seen?  If not, or if you have any questions or concerns, you might also want to get a second opinion from another surgeon.

Good luck, and keep us posted!    Deanna

Sterotatic Biopsy to be perfomed.  Can anyone recommend/discuss their treatment at facilities in the Chicago area.

zivagirl ~ Good question, although this particular thread may not get you the answers you're after.  I'd suggest a couple of things.  First, there's a thread here that's all Illionois women.  I would look for that and maybe post your question there.  (Use the search box to the far right above, next to Member List/Help/Community.  It doesn't always show up on my screen, but it's there.)  Search ILLINOIS LADIES, as I think that's part of the title ("Illinois Ladies Facing Breast Cancer," I think.)

As a second idea, you might try reposting your question as a new topic, but in the Not Diagnosed But Worried Section.  (Click on FORUM INDEX, above left, and you'll find that section.)  It will get  more attention than this particular thread.  Put your location right in the title.   Good luck, and I will pray your biopsy turns out to be B9, as 80% of them do!

Oh, one more idea... Here's a list of the top cancer centers in the country:  http://cancercenters.cancer.gov/cancer_centers/map-cancer-centers.html  You won't go wrong with any of these.  They're the best.

Juanita ~ So sorry you're also joining the club that none of us ever wanted to be in, but an MRI is the next, best step.  And yes, what you know so far makes perfect sense.  In other words, from your biopsy, they know it's infiltrating or invasive (same thing), which means it has the ability to travel outside of the breast.  This is what most of us have.  Moderately differentiated means it's probably a Grade 2, which equates to moderate aggressiveness, with Grade 1 being less and Grade 3 being more aggressive (more changed from normal cells).  If they are saying Stage II (not Grade 2?), that's probably based on estimated size. Stage II is still an early stage, so that's good.

Unfortunately, believing that not having breast cancer in our family somehow cuts our risk is a huge myth.  I don't know the statistics, but while breast cancer in your family can put one at higher risk if there turns out to be a genetic link, not having this doesn't minimize our risk, if that makes sense.  As women we are all at risk simply because we have breasts.

I'm so sorry that you're dealing with this on top of your husband's condition.  That's rough.  I hope you have family & friends nearby to lean on.  And I'm so glad you've found BCO.  The women here are wonderful, and I know you will find a lot of support here, too.  Let us know how your MRI goes and what other questions you might have.  We're here for you!     Deanna

Hello Ladies! 

I have recently been diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ as well as infiltrating ductal carcinoma, left breast. I am scheduled for surgery on 06/25/2010 for lumpectomy to be followed by radiation and chemotherapy. This entire process is terrifying and I am glad this forum is available to give some insight

Patty- I will be thinking about you tomorrow for your pet scan, I hope your scans are good-And thinking good thoughts on the 10th, hope all goes well ((((((((hugs)))))))))

Patty- Sending positive thoughts that scans are clear, glad you got that part over with. I know i didnt like taking things either but you will find that it helps to take tylenol. pain meds, claritan, although the pain will most likely be minimal it does help you get thru it and will help a lot, Let us know what your next step will be so we can help you thru this- ((((((((hugs)))))))))

I've been lurking on this board ever since my mother was diagnosed with bc this May.  I have learned so much from everyone and amazed at your courage and bravery.  Keep it up ladies (and gents).  Stay strong!

jwatrlily ~ I'm so glad that your MRI didn't show anything else concerning.  That's great news!  And, yes, while treatment can be rough, there absolutely is life after breast cancer!  Some women call it a new normal -- maybe partly because we've lost our innocence and have to be extra vigilant about future checkups.   But you might be surprised at some of the unexpected blessings that can also come out of this experience. When I was first diagnosed, a nurse practitioner told me that breast cancer would absolutely change me -- for the better.  At the time, I couldn't begin to cocmprehend what she meant.  But a few months ago, after I'd finished my treatment, a friend asked me how breast cancer had changed me, and I was surprised to hear myself reel off at least 4 very positive things -- like not sweating the small stuff so much, and finding out how much people really love you.  So try not to worry ahead.  You may have some rough days ahead, but we each have more strength than we realilze.  Focus on one day and one decision at a time, and you'll get through this just fine, and you will get your life back.    Deanna