Re-reading pathology report

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wrsmith2x
wrsmith2x Member Posts: 410
edited June 2014 in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Well, I was re-reading my path report recently and found something that I had missed previously.  Just wondering how this could happen?  Or if I have totally lost my mind.  Come to find out I had 2 tumors on my breast for my recurrence.  One, the one I knew about, was directly under the nipple and had invaded the dermis of the skin (3.2cm).  But evidently I had a second one (1.5cm) deeper and on the pec muscle near the chest wall.  So I asked my husband if he knew that I had two tumors and he said he "seemed to remember something about that".  Well I don't remember ever being told about that.

So now I am freaked out again.  How can you get clear margins if the tumor is sitting on the skeletal muscle?  How will you ever know if you have gotten it all?  I might have done chemo again if I had known that!

And having the same pain in that breast  that I did before I was diagnosed the second time is really freaking me out.

I know, I know.....my odds of it coming back are either 0% or 100%....but I just wish someone had explained this to me before.

Just venting.....nothing I can do about it now, I guess.  Sigh.....I hate cancer. 

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  • BikerLee
    BikerLee Member Posts: 355
    edited July 2012

    wow - i think i would have freaked a bit too.  and if the second mass is on the chest wall, i would have thought your treatment plan would have included radiation and/or chemo....

    is it possible for you to get a second opinion at this stage?  i mean, i realize you've had surgery and all, but maybe a second opinion might help you clarify things?

    feeling for you... hope you have a peaceful day.

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  • pennylane
    pennylane Member Posts: 177
    edited July 2012

    Hi Smith...I can relate...I blocked out many details of my bc features too...I do remember, however, that upon my initial meeting with my surgeon, there was a great deal of concern about that pesky bc being on that muscle near the chest wall...She went into all the scenerios of treatment options if it was indeed deeply involved with that muscle...After surgery I remember her saying that it was just sort of sitting there near the muscle and came out practically on its own...She did take some muscle tissue as a precaution...I remember her describing the muscle as a strange sort of biological phenomenom in that it snaps shut and margins therefore are hard to gage.  So in this convoluted way, I am trying to tell you that your muscle invovlement may have been very minimum...perhaps it too was just sort of sitting there...I have been reading these boards a lot, and have heard a lot of triple neg women express concern about their bc invovling pec muscle... perhaps just another strange feature of our particular group's bc...I hope things are going well for you now...You have had a bad break re reoccurance and hope this is finally the end of treatment for you...Love to see your smiling photo on these boards and sending you best wishes, P

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  • wrsmith2x
    wrsmith2x Member Posts: 410
    edited July 2012

    Well, everybody is telling me that I already knew about the two tumors......I really don't remember knowing.  Anyway, supposedly, per Lillie on the John's Hopkins site "Usually breast cancer doesn't grow into the muscle. It is important though that the fascia was surgically excised. This is tissue that is between the breast tissue and the muscle."  So I suppose I should just let it go for now.  And I will ask my surgeon next time I see him.

    Thanks for all the replies and warm wishes.  I appreciate you ladies more than you know.  Namaste'. 

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