If you have just been diagnosed....

Thanks again Deanna

I appreciated your reply. I think when the shock wears off I will handle it better, and get on with it. I will keep you posted.

Many thanks again

Yvette, I'm so sorry about your very recent diagnosis, but I'm glad you've found BCO, and that you felt comfortable sharing your thoughts.  Yes, it absolutely does get better.  The very beginning is the hardest part -- just trying to wrap our heads around a bc dx and learn the lingo and wondering how it will impact our families and our lives.  And anger is a very normal reaction.  I don't personally think that God has betrayed you or any one of us because I don't believe we are promised a life free from pain -- only that He will be there for us through the storms.  But it's a question we each have to decide for ourselves, and I would hope that your sister being both close to you and a minister would understand why your faith has been shaken and be able to help you find it again.

Let us know how we can help you!  Blessings & hope (love that!) & courage to you ~   Deanna  

Mikamon, have you had an MRI, to know if there's anything else going on that could factor into your decision?  Also, if I was in your situation, I would absolutely consider getting a second opinion because a different breast surgeon might have a different take on things (they don't all think alike) or just give you some additional shred of information that will help you decide.  Also, are you dealing with a breast surgeon (vs. a general surgeon)?  In your situation, I think I would also suggest meeting with an oncologist before deciding on surgery.  Tamoxifen will be off the table for you, so getting the opinion of an oncologist as to whether the more aggressive surgery makes sense might be helpful.  

I'm so sorry you're going through this, but I'm glad you've found BCO.   (((Hugs)))   Deanna

Thanks Deanna. I just found great resources and tips for chemo too. Just had my 1st t/c and it went pretty well. I know the days to come will be difficult but my oncologist says I'm a tough cookie.



Yvette67: I was raised roman catholic but have not been to church except a few times in many years. However I started going to an episcopalian church, mostly from friends advice and the Reverend is amazing. I wonder if your sister is just so "close" to the situation that maybe going to another minister would help. it's tough not to want to blame someone, but that's also part of grieving which we are all 100% allowed to do. Maybe there's also a support group near you, women and men who have been through this that could help... Good luck!



Mikimomof3: sorry to hear of your recent diagnosis too. I would suggest asking the doctors what the risk of recurrence is in the other breast. Although i did oncotype-dx and is was a 6, that was a month after surgery. I was a resigned to not go through this all on the right side and then start mammos on the other side and feel like I was just waiting for it to happen again, but i had 4 tumors and 1 lymph. My motherinlaw had dcis, just removed the lump and did radiation, she been great for 5 years now. It's such a personal decision, but maybe get more information/ statistics from doctors. That may help you decide. I don't regret the dmx at all. My kids are 9 and 15 and I just thought I didn't want to worry about the risk of it coming back on the left side. I also had no family history (adopted), but just didn't want to go through it again, and it has reduced my rate of recurrence in the breast to less than 5% just having the dmx. Hope you find some answers.

Hello,

Just got the result of my core biopsy and have been feeling very scared and alone.  Now that I have gotten over the shock and can finally stop crying, I realize that is time to get to work and arm myself with information before I see the surgeon again this week.  I hope you courageous ladies can help me sort through all of this.  The report says: 

INVASIVE WELL DIFFERENTIATED DUCTAL CARCINOMA (TUBULE FORMATON 2/3, NUCLEAR PLEOMORPHISM 2/3 AND MITOSIS 1/3) FR A TOTAL SCORE OF 5/9 .  aSSOCIATED FOCUS OF DUCTAL CARCINOMA IN SITU, CRIBRIFORM TYPE, HIGH NUCLEAR GRADE FORMING LESS THAN 5% OF THE TUMOR.    ER, PR and HER2 are pending.

CYTOPathology report says:FNA, left breast 11 o'slock Suspicious for ductal carcinoma.

Can anyone explain this to me in lay terms.  I guess when I was in the doctor's office and he asked if I had any questions, all I said was later because I had a big lump in my throat and I did not want to cry.  I was so sure that the lump I discovered while doing BSE  3 wks ago was a cyst or fibroadenoma. 

Thank you ladies.  My emotions are playing all sorts of havoc.  One minute I am strong, next minute I feel like I did not take care of myself and that somehow this could have been avoided.  I know this is not true.  Then I look at my children and I fight back tears.

Allenan,We are sisters seperated at birth! I just got my path report yesterday and it reads almost word for word with yours.I have been crying for 2 days now only stopping to take a sip of wine. My husband was out Thursday night at a meeting so I was home alone with my 2 cats. I alternated between crying and primal screaming. Scared the s*** out of both of them.The in-situ stuff I can deal with . It's the invasive stuff that 's scaring me.I met with my oncologist( she's been following me for 3 years for LCIS which EVERYONE says is NOT  cancer but may be a marker.HA)

on Friday morning and she went over the biospy report then in the afternoon i met with a plastic surgeon to develope a plan for bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction. I still have to see the surgeon Weds to schedule surgery for the following week provided I can get all the testing that I apparently need beforehand. I feel totally out of control.

fiaa-no, you can't be 100% sure. I had a negative MRI 2 months ago along with a negative mammo 6 months. Now, I have invasive cancer?? How did this happen. Were there no signs at all ??

Hello Everyone,

Just diagnosed on 4/29/11 and left a message yesterday.  I was hoping to hear from someone but perhaps its the weekend.

I need to make some decisions.  First, I am trying to figure out the difference between the cytopathology report and the surgical patholoty report.

The surgical path says IDC..... (I posted this info on yesterday's post)

The cytopath report dx says

Suspicious for ductal carcinoma.

Atypical epithelial cells presenting in tridementional clusters and singly.  ANYONE knows what this means?

I feel I should go to MSKCC where I worked long ago and get a second opinion.  Then I think I should contact Cancer Care Centers of America and go for evaluation.  My head is spinning.I have a general breast surgeon whom my OB-GYN said is very good.  She said sent her own sister to him.  My lumpectomy is scheduled for May 11 so I feel I need to get informed and more quickly.

My ER,PR, HER-2 are pending.

DOCBabs, since you said our path report reads similar,  I would love to hear more about what you did.  This is all new to me.  I discovered the lump.  Thought is was a cysts and now I am told it is Invasive well differentiated ductal carcinoma (size less than 2 cm). I am having such soreness and pain in my ribcage that I am feeling scared.  Sorry for such a long post.  This is just my 2nd day dealing with this.  I know I will get better and be able to contribute once I get more informed.

Hi all, thank you so much for your info....i live just north of Birmingham, AL and just now got power!  I was going nuts with my dx and not having the internet!!!!  I have met with two different breast specialists (both surgeons) and they both led me to feel like a bi-lateral mastectomy was a little extreme for me...so I am going to go ahead and keep my lumpectomy scheduled for Tuesday.  I have not had an MRI or any other tests.  I am 100% confident in my pathology report as I do Lab Sales and requested my biopsy to be sent to the place I trust and know.  My surgeon even said he had never seen a HER 2 Neu result come back so quickly.

However, after reading some more I do think I need to request an MRI or some other test.  Since I found this lump after a clear mammo back in November my left breast has not been checked.  I do worry that there could be something over there we don't know about and this would change my path. 

Allenan, sorry about your dx.  Mine doesn't say anything about being well defined!!!  Mine says "areas suspicious for lymphovascular invasion are identified." 

All, I had a nieghbor who does research tell me that sometimes the Her 2 Neu can block the progesterone receptor and make it show negative when it is positive.  Anyone heard this or have the primary tumor markers redone?

Allenan, it definitely sounds like the page that says "suspicious for ductal carcinoma" is something that was done before the surgical path report (addendum) page to justify the biopsy.

So what you have (invasive ductal carcinoma) is the most common form of bc.  Something like 80% of women with bc have that one.  The ductal carcinoma in situ is an earlier form of bc -- not yet invasive -- that sometimes exists alone, but very often along with invasive bc, which is your situation. 

Tubule Formation, nuclear pleomorphism, and mitotic count are the 3 components that make up the Nottingham Scale.  This is the way pathologists compare your bc to other bc's, basically asking, how aggressive is it?  That aggressiveness is expressed with a grade (1, 2 or 3) that will factor into your treatment recommendations.  Here's a page that explains it:  http://ccm.ucdavis.edu/bcancercd/311/grading_diagram.html

It looks your bc falls within Grade 1, which is the least aggressive grade.  That's a very good thing!!!

I hope this helps!   Has your surgeon scheduled an MRI prior to your lumpectomy?    Deanna

Thank you so very much Deanna.  I checked out the grading page and deciphered that my  1 + 2 + 2 for a score of 5 out of 9 makes it right on the borderline of a Grade 1.

I am feeling as if I should have an MRI or something else before going right into lumpectomy.  My BS is a general surgeon with breast experience.  I do trust my GYN's recommendation that he aslo handled her sister's Br. CA but now that I am getting more informed, I wonder why he did not recommend an MRI or CT  before I do the lumpectomy next week.

I have not even met with an oncologist yet.  It seems that meeting with the oncologist will happen after the lumpectomy and results of my ER,PR and HER2.  He said only then will they will have info on the CA to determine what treatment plan is best.  I guess I am confused because I thought I would meet with the oncologist based on the biopsy result and not the lumpectomy result.  Does this make sense?

Allenan, when bc appears to be small and early, as your does, meeting with an oncologist prior to surgery probably isn't necessary.  The surgery results (surgical pathology) is what the oncologist goes on.  One exception would be if a tumor is very large, in which case pre-adjuvant chemo (chemo before surgery) might be a logical consideration.  Otherwise, seeing an oncologist now probably won't be that helpful because recommendations would only be based on preliminary findings (the biopsy).  After your surgery, your oncologist should order an Oncotype-DX test, which will assess the possible need for chemo.

Some general surgeons are excellent, especially if the lesion is small and the final dx turns out to be fairly simple.  I ignored advice to go to a breast surgeon at an NCI-designated cancer center in favor of a highly-recommended local surgeon with strong breast cancer credentials, and it turned out to be a bad decision, costing me an additional surgery, lost time, and horrible stress.  So I am strongly in favor of both second opinions and NCI-designated cancer centers where they have surgeons who devote their careers and lives to working with breast cancer.  But that's just me.  And I would absolutely ask him why he hasn't ordered an MRI.     Deanna

Hi Everyone,

I have 2 questions ---

I am still here waiting for my HER2 results.  It has been 2 weeks and still nothing.  My BS said it is because it is the molecular or FISK result that why it is taking long.  I am not even sure if I am saying this right.

Did anyone have to wait so long for their HER 2 results?     Also  there anyone who was ERpositive and PR negative. The wait is making me anxious. 

Thank you all.

Hello everyone.  I have visited the board a couple of times when I was not yet diagnosed.  I had a core biopsy yesterday and today at 5:00 p.m. my surgeon called to tell me that I have Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma.  The lesion on ultrasound was 1.7 cm.  She has no idea about estrogen receptivity yet and she wants to do an MRI as soon as possible because the lesion is very near the muscle.  She said if it has invaded the muscle I would have to have chemotherapy to shrink it before she could do surgery.  She mentioned the possibility of lumpectomy or mastectomy depending on the outcome of the MRI.  I have never had any health problems in the past, so I am not used to undergoing surgery or any of it.  The idea of chemo scares me terribly.  I would appreciate hearing about any of your experiences with a similar type of diagnosis and also what to expect.  Thank you so much for being here.  I feel pretty alone right now, although I have a wonderful husband.  He doesn't know how to help.  

HelloEveryone,

I have been silent for some time because of all these appointments.  I wanted to encourage any new members to this board as I too was recently diagnosed on April 26 and will be going for my sentinel node biopsy and lumpectomy on Thursday at Memorial Sloan Kettering.

There is this excellent book that my husband bought over the weekend.  It is called " STAND BY HER"  The book took 21 years to be written because the author explained that he experienced his wife, mother, sister, sister in law and best friends wife go through the cancer journey.  The reviewers of the book said it should be a required reading for any man who is supporting a loved one with cancer.  I am sorry I do not have the author's name but will ask my husband when I see him again.

Since my last post, my labs have delayed my surgery because I am terribly anemic.  The numbers are slowing going up as I try to take the iron supplements and eat properly.  I go through so many emotions - one day I am confident and the next I am apprehensive.  It's the fear of the unknown I guess. 

I hope to contribute more to this board as I go through this journey

Thank you all.

Ann

Hi, Barb ~ Welcome to BCO, although I'm so sorry you have reason to be here.  It sounds like you have your gameplan in place, which is good.  Since you're Her+, do they stop the Herceptin for your surgery and then pick it up again?  Or ???  (I'm under the impression that many women get Herceptin for a year, which is why I'm asking.)

I see that you've already joined the May 2011 chemo group.  I hope you get as much information and support there as I did with mine back in Aug 08.  I'm sure you will.

And it's great that you have complete trust in your medical team.  That's so important!

Good luck with chemo!   (((Hugs)))  Deanna