is IDC slow or fast growing?

Hi Erin,

No one can answer your question because it can be either.  It depends on the grade and aggressiveness of the disease. 

I had both DCIS and IDC.  I waited for about five years between the appearance of the lump (2001) and surgical excision (2006).  I had a fine needle aspirtion in 2001 and they said they didn't find anything which is why I waited so long to have the surgery.  So, mine was definitely slow growing.  There are other women here whose lumps double in size quickly. 

You have to do what makes you most comfortable, but a month doesn't seem that long - you could contact the doctor's office and ask them to call you if there are any cancellations.  Good luck. 

This is one thing that is worrying me about my mom's cancer.  All we know is she has IDC Grade 3 but nothing more.  She was diagnosed March 24th but is scheduled for surgery June 28th. We went through alot of set backs for her surgery date. It will be difficult to schedule the plastic surgeon with the general surgeon this upcoming month because they are on vacation.  I guess getting breast cancer during the summer is not good cause all the surgeons are on vacation. She is scheduled to have a mastectomy with an immediate reconstruction. We are wondering if we should just go ahead with the mastectomy and worry about the reconstruction later if her cancer is fast growing. First we were told hers was fast growing but now they are saying well another month won't make the cancer grow tremendously bigger.  So we don't know is waiting 3 months from your diagnosis date too long to wait for surgery? Should we just go ahead and just do the mastectomy now and wait for the reconstruction?

Hi Ebarb - the Nottingham score is a scoring system to assess the grade of the BC by how the cells look under the microscope. They look at 3 different things giving each one a score of 1 2 or 3

Wishing you good luck

I was diagnosed 5/12/10, have type 2 ldc and have had bone scans,chest and abdomen scans and a ekg 2 doppler for the heart. I had the port put in on 5/25/10 and they found something in the bronhialtube and have to have a bronscopy 6/3/10, called the onco and told them I was worried this was going to grow and they told me they have a handle on it not to worry grade 2 is a moderate growernot slow and not fast.hope this helps pam

To Leanna9 - that's great advice, I have a similar diagnosis to you, the waiting is the worst. When I was 44yrs old, I felt a lump in my left breast, had a mammogram which was clear, had 3 core biopsy of 1.2x1.8cm tumour guided by ultrasound on 30 Dec 2008. After nuclear & blue die tests for sentinal node, chest x-ray, full body CT & bone scan - no mets detectable. 1st surgery on 30 Jan 2009 lumpectomy and sentinal node dissection. I waited 10 days for pathology results - 5cms removed margins not clear, 2 sentinal nodes positive, 2nd surgery 13 Feb 2009 left side mastectomy to chest wall, additional 21 nodes removed, 1 positive. Pathology came back - multifocal IDC, further 9cms mass totalling 14cms with clear margins, Stage III, 3/23 nodes +, ER+/PR+ HER2+, drain left in for 25 days causing cording and problems moving left arm requiring physiotherapy, chest portacath inserted 23 March 2009 (day of my 1st chemo treatment) -  Doxorubicin (Adriamycin) & Cyclophosphamide (Endoxana) every 3 weeks x 4 doses. After 1st dose on my 10th day rushed to hospital emergency neutrapenic (no white cells) with high fever & coughing, admitted to cancer ward isolation room for 6 days, with daily Nurlasta injections till white cell count rose, then 24 hours after next 3 doses, Taxol weekly x 12 doses together with weekly Herceptin (worst side effects - peripheral neurapathy (nerve damage) in hands & feet, lost ability to read & understand things and loss of balance - very wobbly walking), 25 doses of radiation across chest, underarm, across collarbone and neck and across my back cutting across my left lung and heart (which my skin handled well - just a bit pink afterwards), 3 mnthly ECGs to check my global systolic function while on Herceptin doses continuing 3 wkly for 12 months (last treatment 1 June 2010), started daily Tamoxifen Nov 2009 for 5 years, early menopause since April 2009 (might change to Aramotose? if periods don't return), breast reconstruction from tummy tuck planned. I've had 30 visits to the hospital for chemo treatment as well as the 25 radiation visits together with breast clinic, surgeon, physio, plastics, ECGs, blood tests, oncologist visits, radiation followups, ultrasounds to check various lumps found. I just hop on the local bus & in 30 mins I'm walking into the hospital. It's been a long slog - with more to come so patience is what I'm good at. Getting to know the staff and other breast cancer patients has been what gets me through. Sometimes a visit can be as long as 8 hours. I have never been told what the grade was?? I have been told by oncology registrar  that it was DCIS not IDC, although the nurses have checked my path report and said that it is IDC and very aggressive. I was supposed to have a inflator put in at the time of the mastectomy but once it was discovered that it was so extensive and close to the chest wall with the need for radiation, that idea was shelved. Now I've been advised not to have an implant because of the amount of radiation I have received (apparently high risk of infection, encaptulation). I have been advised to keep my portacath for at least 6 months (having it flushed 6 wkly) so that puts off reconstruction plans again for a while (more time to heal). So hang in there as I am now feeling about 90% myself and hope to soon be leaping tall buildings (joke). So good to read all these posts and other people's stories to know I am not alone down here in Australia.