How many of us are multi focal?
Most of us say how large our tumors were, but we don't all say if we had more than one and if so what size. I had three , totalling over 6cm, but onc told me they base treatment/ prognosis on largest tumor . Just wondering
Comments
-
The tumour in my right breast measured 8.7 cm and was removed with unclear margins by diagnostic lumpectomy necessitating a mastecomy. I had a BMX and pathology found an additional 1.6cm tumour in the right breast and multifocal LCIS in the 'healthy' left breast. From my later reading I found that ILC is more likely (14-32%) to be present as multifocal disease compared to IDC. It is a sneaky beast!!
-
I was, without question, multifocal/multicentric. The MRI report said "multitude" of tumors.
-
My tumor was several that had merged. Because I had neo-adjuvant that shrank the cncer a lot, I don't think they ever got a good handle on the size of the thing and how many tumors there were.
-
I had two ILC about 1.6 cm, and two tiny ones, plus one node. UMX with immediate DIEP reconstruction. Other breast looked fine, so far. I realize ILC is more likely to appear in other breast, however.
-
I'm another ILC multi-focal girl. One tumour 1.7cm pleomorphic grade 3 and a second 0.9cm classic grade 2. My onc was pretty non-committal about how to deal with this when deciding whether I should have radiotherapy. She tried using the higher grade larger one only and applying her criteria and then she tried adding them together to give a size of 2.7cm. Needless to say this gave different recommendations but in the end I was advised to have the radio. She did discuss it with colleagues but nobody seemed very definite on how to view these multi-focal tumours. I still don't know if I'm considered Stage 1 for the largest tumour only or Stage 2 for the total size of my tumours.
The two other women I met during my treatment who were ILC girls were also both multi-focal with two tumours. They didn't know whether to add them up or not for staging and treatment decisions either. Confusion reigns here. -
I too am multifocal. My path report was 12 pages. Every bit of tissue had cancer. Lobular is very sneaky. I did not have any large tumors like some of you though. They took 17 nodes and all had lobular in them. I just finished regimen # 2 of chemo and have 4 more to go. I sure hope it is kicking some lobular ass.
-
Diana, how are you holding up with the chemo?
-
I was fortunate to get clean lumpectomy but went on to have a bilateral mx because nothing picked up my tumor except an MRI. I had heard (correctly or not) that the chances are high for it to appear in the other breast. Being a nervous-nellie, I did not want continued 6 month follow ups and "wait" for it.
After bmx, surgeon said nothing else was found...so mine was clearly not multifocal. I will say that my surgeon "guaranteed" me that MRI is 99.8% accurate and "assured" me my tumor would be 7mm. 1.8cm was the final size of it. My radiologist was even shocked it was cancer because the image was not spiculated at all.
STUPID cancer!
-
My pathology report reads:
Right Breast - Multicentric ILC involving all quadrants of mastectomy speciman except lower inner quadrant. Invasive carcinoma present in background of LCIS also identified in all breast quadrants.
Left Breast - Simple mastectomy specimen with foci of LCIS. No invasive component identified. Associated proliferative fibrocystic changes.
Level I and II sentinel nodes on right side had isolated breast carcinoma tumor cells and malignant lymphoma, axillay lymph node had only the lymphoma.
What is the difference between multicentric and multifocal?
-
Momine- I am tolerating chemo ok. I had to get a wig and I really miss my dam nose hairs. You don't realize how important they are when you have a runny nose. The chemo didn't make me as sick feeling this last round but my periods are all messed up. I went 40 days without one and then had one that lasted 11 days. I was not impressed with that. I just want them to go away for good. How are you doing? I have been working a lot in between all the doctor appointments so I do have as much time to write anymore. I do try to read what is going on with everyone though. Have a great weekend.
-
Kestrelgurl... here's a good explanation of multifocal vs. multicentric..
http://www.ehow.com/about_5530776_multifocal-vs-multicentric-breast-cancer.html
Multifocal Breast Cancer
Multifocal breast cancer occurs when there are multiple tumors in your breast that all come from one original tumor. Parts of the original tumor break off and start to grow separately from the original. These tumors tend to be located in the same section of the breast. Multifocal breast cancer tends to be a less invasive cancer because the tumors have not moved into other parts of the body.
Multicentric Breast Cancer
Multicentric breast cancer involves multiple tumors in the breast that do not all come from one original tumor. These tumors have all grown separately from each other. Multicentric breast cancer tumors are found in different sections of the breast. This is a more invasive type of cancer because each tumor represents a new area of cancer growth. In this type of cancer there are multiple sites to be treated in each breast that is affected. Multicentric breast cancer occurs less frequently than multifocal breast cancer.Read more: Multifocal Vs. Multicentric Breast Cancer | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5530776_multifocal-vs-multicentric-breast-cancer.html#ixzz21DS6Luni
-
Thanks, itsjustme10......this is good information and clears it up. Trust me to get the more invasive, less common type to go along with the lymphoma. I like to be special. ;-)
-
Im a multifocal girl as well. Just found out that the 3 nodes they took out during surgery came back as positive with extranodal invasion. They show up as negative during the surgery so now i get to go back for axillary dissection. Anyway i had 3 foci biggest was 2.4 with macrometasases. whatever that means. lol
-
Diana, good to hear that you are trucking on. The runny nose is most likely from the taxotere part of your chemo, at least that was why I had it. It too shall pass.
I am doing well, have hair (even in my nose :P), back in the gym etc. -
As I was prepped for the wire localized lumpectomy last August, the radiologist (dr.) was trying to get my BS on the phone. He had found more than one tumor site in my left breast and was wondering which one he should be identifying for the surgery. Of course, alarm bells went off in my head. More than one tumor (to me) meant mastectomy, not lumpectomy. I was so scared about the whole procedure and just wanted it over, that I didn't call a halt to it right then and there. So I went forward with the lumpectomy and the results were unsurprisingly not clear margins. The BS wanted to do further surgery to get clear margins. Due to numerous communication problems (between her and the radiologist as well as between her and me), I switched surgeons. I think she wanted to do numerous lumpectomies until I finally "gave up" and went for the mastectomies...
Long story, shortened, my current BS did the bmx in January and the pathology report came back with multi-focal throughout the left breast and a second site in my right breast. Had the first surgeon read the mammogram films correctly (or listened to the radiologist), I would have skipped that lumpectomy in August altogether. I hope others can learn from this.
ILC is a sneaky beast!
-
I had three multicentric tumors. I had,for FIVE years, pointed out the palpable lesions to my gyn and he continually reassured me that my mammograms were fine and that I had fibrocystic changes only. Hmmmm, to his great surprise, all three 1.7, 2.1 and 3.9 cm and both ILC and IDC types were all cancerous! Too bad I was the one that had to suffer the consequences of his negligence.
-
Rocket, your story sounds a lot like mine. I had a lump both my DH & I could feel, but my PCP couldn't, and nothing showed up on my mammo, so I chalked it off to too much caffeine. When dx'd more than a year later, I also had IDC & ILC (side by side), plus a couple of smaller ILCs lesions (missed by my first MRI & surgeon) and a small tubular lesion. Deanna
-
That is interesting, I asked my onc the same thing, I was multicentric/multifocal too. I was wondering if that made a difference in staging etc. I was told "the nodes trump all!" I did have some positive nodes so I guess that was my answer. I still wonder why having multicentric and/or multifocal isn't taken more into consideration though.
-
I think it's much more rare than folks realize. Yes those of us that have it don't feel that way, but because most women are dxd at an early stage possibly it's caught before they develop other tumors. For me it was an absolute miracle that it hadn't spread to my lymph nodes.
-
Great, I must be multicentric. Originally diagnosed with ILC stage IV grade 2 er 95%/pr 50% her2-. Now also have 2 more tumors IDC grade 3, 50%er/pr- her2- all in same breast. Probably should have gone with gut at first and had double mx but was told by several docs that the horse is out of the barn already. That along with the fact that I have had 2 other minor surgeries in my life and almost took my life due to bad docs. So I didn't want another one coming at me with a knife.
Categories
- All Categories
- 679 Advocacy and Fund-Raising
- 289 Advocacy
- 68 I've Donated to Breastcancer.org in honor of....
- Test
- 322 Walks, Runs and Fundraising Events for Breastcancer.org
- 5.6K Community Connections
- 282 Middle Age 40-60(ish) Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 53 Australians and New Zealanders Affected by Breast Cancer
- 208 Black Women or Men With Breast Cancer
- 684 Canadians Affected by Breast Cancer
- 1.5K Caring for Someone with Breast cancer
- 455 Caring for Someone with Stage IV or Mets
- 260 High Risk of Recurrence or Second Breast Cancer
- 22 International, Non-English Speakers With Breast Cancer
- 16 Latinas/Hispanics With Breast Cancer
- 189 LGBTQA+ With Breast Cancer
- 152 May Their Memory Live On
- 85 Member Matchup & Virtual Support Meetups
- 375 Members by Location
- 291 Older Than 60 Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 177 Singles With Breast Cancer
- 869 Young With Breast Cancer
- 50.4K Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis
- 204 Breast Cancer with Another Diagnosis or Comorbidity
- 4K DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)
- 79 DCIS plus HER2-positive Microinvasion
- 529 Genetic Testing
- 2.2K HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer
- 1.5K IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer)
- 3.4K IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)
- 1.5K ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma)
- 999 Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis
- 652 LCIS (Lobular Carcinoma In Situ)
- 193 Less Common Types of Breast Cancer
- 252 Male Breast Cancer
- 86 Mixed Type Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned
- 189 Palliative Therapy/Hospice Care
- 488 Second or Third Breast Cancer
- 1.2K Stage I Breast Cancer
- 313 Stage II Breast Cancer
- 3.8K Stage III Breast Cancer
- 2.5K Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
- 13.1K Day-to-Day Matters
- 132 All things COVID-19 or coronavirus
- 87 BCO Free-Cycle: Give or Trade Items Related to Breast Cancer
- 5.9K Clinical Trials, Research News, Podcasts, and Study Results
- 86 Coping with Holidays, Special Days and Anniversaries
- 828 Employment, Insurance, and Other Financial Issues
- 101 Family and Family Planning Matters
- Family Issues for Those Who Have Breast Cancer
- 26 Furry friends
- 1.8K Humor and Games
- 1.6K Mental Health: Because Cancer Doesn't Just Affect Your Breasts
- 706 Recipe Swap for Healthy Living
- 704 Recommend Your Resources
- 171 Sex & Relationship Matters
- 9 The Political Corner
- 874 Working on Your Fitness
- 4.5K Moving On & Finding Inspiration After Breast Cancer
- 394 Bonded by Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Life After Breast Cancer
- 806 Prayers and Spiritual Support
- 285 Who or What Inspires You?
- 28.7K Not Diagnosed But Concerned
- 1K Benign Breast Conditions
- 2.3K High Risk for Breast Cancer
- 18K Not Diagnosed But Worried
- 7.4K Waiting for Test Results
- 603 Site News and Announcements
- 560 Comments, Suggestions, Feature Requests
- 39 Mod Announcements, Breastcancer.org News, Blog Entries, Podcasts
- 4 Survey, Interview and Participant Requests: Need your Help!
- 61.9K Tests, Treatments & Side Effects
- 586 Alternative Medicine
- 255 Bone Health and Bone Loss
- 11.4K Breast Reconstruction
- 7.9K Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 2.7K Complementary and Holistic Medicine and Treatment
- 775 Diagnosed and Waiting for Test Results
- 7.8K Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 50 Immunotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 7.4K Just Diagnosed
- 1.4K Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy
- 5.2K Lymphedema
- 3.6K Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment
- 591 Pain
- 3.9K Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 8.4K Surgery - Before, During, and After
- 109 Welcome to Breastcancer.org
- 98 Acknowledging and honoring our Community
- 11 Info & Resources for New Patients & Members From the Team