Just diagnosed... too many questions HELP!

First Salma, just take deep breaths. Finding all this out on a Friday really stinks as the waiting is the absolute pits! The size of your tumor is small. Mine was 1.8CM. Mine is grade 2. A lot of your treatment options are determined based on your ER/PR/HER status. For me, I was ER+ PR- HER-. For ER+ women there is a genomic test called the Oncotype test that can detemine what kind of value percetnage-wise chemo would give.

Once you know your status, I would ask for that test it you are ER+.

We are here to help you though this. As a new member you are limited to 5 posts a day until you hit 50 posts. You can click on a member name then in the upper left corner, you can select to send a private message.

You can do this.

To add to what others have said, (and they may have said this part, too and I just missed it) --- if no lymph nodes are involved, it is highly unlikely that the cancer is anywhere else in your body.  A diagnosis of cancer sends us all into panic, but as you learn more about it, you will calm down and feel less like you have just been handed a death sentence.  You haven't.  Your cancer appears to be small and contained and I think you will do just fine.  Lots of wonderful women here on this forum who have been through exactly what you are going through now who understand how you are feeling right now.  Let all of them support you.  You'll be ok.  Good luck.

Salma,

To echo what the other ladies said.- With a stage 1, small tumor, no nodes, er+/pr+/her2-, grade 2, you have a very good prognosis. I expect you will live to a very old age and enjoy watching your beautiful boys grow up and someday have  grandchildren too.

Best of luck.

Julie

God bless you and I am right beside you. Don't do anything unless you are 100% comfortable with your decision and make sure your questions are all answered before you go to the next step. I was diagnosed with breast cancer on Oct 25th, 2010. It has been a whirlwind of doctors, nurses, techs and flowers . First, I didn't want to have a needle biopsy, which apparently is not the norm, but my surgeon got past it, so on Tuesday we did an excisional biopsy, where he took out the mass, and treated it as if it was cancer, so also took out tissue in the margins. The mass was cancer, the margins were negative. 60% In SITU, 40% out..On Friday he went in and extracted three lymph nodes, which were also negative. The tumor showed positive for ER and PR and is still being looked at for a myriad of other things. What I need to find out now is what is the statistics for radiation vs no radiation, for tamoxifin vs no tamoxifin,, where can we get those kinds of stats from?

Salma,

Glad to hear the liver and chest bones are clear. Sorry you have to deal with cancer, but stage 1 has an excellent prognosis.

Msbehavin - your oncologist should be able to go over with you what the benefits are of each type of treatment. Radiation is a given with a lumpectomy (which is what it sounds like you had), unless you want to go back and have a mastectomy (lumpectomy + radiation has the same survival rate as mastectomy alone). I'm confused about your stage - you have yourself listed as stage 1, but then say DCIS (which is usually stage 0). Tamoxifen is usually recommended if you are ER+. You may need an oncotype test, which should help with decision-making (gives you a recurrence risk based on several things and tells you whether chemo is likely to be of any benefit).

Wishing you both the best,

Karen