RE: What breast cancer tumours are more likely to recurre

wildbreast · May 2010

Dear all,

As a a breast cancer survivor, (gosh how I hate that word, although not the concept), my biggest gear is to have a recurrence. Obviously, the once I fear the most are the mets, but also local recurrence as I believe they indicate your chances to survive the illness are more compromised. Well, the fact is in most of the breast cancer forums I see ladies with recurrence, some of them in the short term, and other in a shocking long term, (20, 15, 10 years), when probably most of us would think we finally got ride of the thread ... it hit the hardest. What I would like to know is if recurrence is somehow inevitable.I hate sounded so negative but I have the guess that, this is the case. May I ask how many of you have had a recurrence and which were the characteristics of the primary dx HER of hormone positive.

Thanks and take good care of your self budies

SpunkyGirl · May 2010

You are asking the billion dollar question, because no one knows the answer to it. Even oncologists who've treated breast cancer for years will tell you that there's really no way to tell if someone is going to recur or not. Unscientifically, I will say that I think the system of labeling breast cancer in stages is antequated because some cancers are more aggressive than others. I was Stage III, and I lost a friend who was diagnosed after me as a Stage II.

What I think you are really asking is how do we live with breast cancer and all the ugly possibilities??? I've come to believe that I need to prepare for the worst (i.e. have all the papers in order) but live like the best is going to happen. Period. For me, I have to be able to enjoy the moment and the day, and I've learned from BC not to try to read the future. Who knows what might happen???

Finally, I don't believe that recurrence is inevitable. It sure is easy to believe that when you are reading about it all the time, but remember that many survivors are out there living their lives and not posting about how well they are doing.

Anonymous · May 2010

Like you I am scared to death. It seems for the last 3 years it's been one thing after another. I try to think of women like Nancy Regan, Betty Ford, even Shirley Temple, who had BC and are still alive today after decades. However that quickly fads away when I think of my Mom.

Each time Mom passed the 5 year mark, she was told she was cured, only for it to return again. First in her other breast, then her uterus, or maybe the other way around, finally in her liver. My dad's mom died when in her early 30's or late 20's of BC, and what ate we told, no mammos until 50 as younger women rarely get it.

I was not given my BRCA results for almost 2 years, not until I was dx, and it was positive. I am BRCA 2, and the gene I carry has only turned up in 13 other patients - and they were in Venice Italy area. Great.

I have been having pain in my hip and lower spine. Last weeks scans showed "activity" in that area, but my Onc told me - it's nothing to worry about. WHAT THE $#@!@$%? Don't worry. Even my pain Dr is concern. He wants to do something else if the pain does not leave within 2 weeks.

Spunky GIrl - I like your "light at the end of the tunnel". I had that on my FB, but fear the light might be an on coming train.

SpunkyGirl · May 2010

Darn it, Jean, I didn't think about the light that way before. You've now ruined the song for me Wink .

Anonymous · June 2010

SpunkyGirl

Sorry I didn't mean to ruin the song for you.

It's just that I have been through so much. Not one thing has gone smoothly for me. After all how many women do you know go in for a mastectomy and come out with a broken left elbow and torn right rotator cuff? Or had their expanders slide under their arms? The wrong implants place - not the wrong size but a substance that could actually be dangerous to my life?

This just continues day after day. Today I went to the dentist, as my PCP was very concerned about lumps in my mouth. (Had PET/CT 2 weeks ago and a fluoroscope last week) Turned out to be a drug reaction. - Great I have no idea what will happen next, if the meds I was given today don't "cure" this situation by 2 weeks from today. My luck - she'll probably say I'll loss my teeth.

CoolBreeze · June 2010

I realize this is a weeks old question but I wanted to respond to one part where the OP said:

Well, the fact is in most of the breast cancer forums I see ladies with recurrence, some of them in the short term, and other in a shocking long term, (20, 15, 10 years), when probably most of us would think we finally got ride of the thread .

What you don't see on forums are women who have recovered fully and put their cancer behind them. Most women, once they are through with treatment, get on with their lives and - while I'm not sure you ever put a cancer experience behind you entirely - stop thinking about it regularly. They are not posting on cancer forums. it's kinda the same as when you are pregnant. Many people post on pregnancy forums too but once you have the baby, you stop. Until you get pregnant again.

But all those women who don't get pregnant again - you don't see them. Same as with the cancer boards.

I see a few women here and other forums who are many years out of a diagnosis, and who stay around to discuss cancer. They are helping other women newly diagnosed get through it and demononstrating it can be done. We should all be grateful they are here - but they are few and far between.

When cancer returns, then of course, getting support from others who have had it is critical, so they may come back, start posting again - and makes it seems like recurrance happens to everybody.

Using forums and an indication isn't valid. The statistics say that most women will not have a recurrence.

All that said, I do it too. I think it's natural. I'll look at the statistics of a woman who identifies as stage IV and see if her original tumor sizes was the same as mine, whether she's HER2+. And, what I've found is there is no pattern. Stage I woman, HER2- with no nodes get mets too. It's a fickle disease.

NaNa1 · July 2010

this is my first time on a cancer chat. I found a lump in 2008 and it was ductal Carcinoma IN SITU but the left breast had invasive ductal Carcinoma. I had a bilateral mastectomy and 12 lymph nodes removed on the left side....2 were invasive. I had 4 mos of chemo, breast reconstruction and then on Fermara until a month ago as I was having joint pains and we were going to stop to see if the joints would clear up.

I got flu symptoms a few days later and in ER with gall bladder issues. They did an ultra sound and CAT scan and found a growth on the gall bladder and because I was a cancer survivor then they insisted further tests on the gall bladder before removing. This seems to be a "Life sentence" once diagnosed with cancer that everything must be double checked. But I was truly blessed as we did a PET scan....no cancer on the gall bladder and I had the gall bladder surgery last week.

But cancer did show up under my left arm pit area and near my right breast implant. Now I'm facing a second battle with cancer only 2 yr later. I'm blessed that it's caught early as we weren't thinking about it in those areas so if it weren't for the gall bladder attack it may have went un-noticed for a while. We are all responsible for our own health so we must stay on top of our tests, ask questions and try to do what is right for us. I'm not sure what is going to happen this time and the fear of the unknown is almost the worst.....but I'm strong and not willing to give in to cancer and willing to fight on and become a 2 time breast cancer survivor.

RE: What breast cancer tumours are more likely to recurre

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