Cancer in both breasts?

mrskimber47
mrskimber47 Member Posts: 97
edited June 2014 in IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)

Hi,

Just curious. I have a dx of IDC in the right breast, multifocal (3) tumors. Now in the left breast, I have shooting pain from the outer part straight to the nipple and I can feel either a swelling or very small lump there as well. Its the same pain, and definitely in a duct. 

Is it common to have cancer, or even DCIS in the other breast? I am very concerned.  

Have an appt with the onc tomorrow, have already emailed him my concerns and can't seem to find any info on this. Everything I read says its rare...

Any info would be a great help! 

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  • AngelFaith
    AngelFaith Member Posts: 40
    edited August 2012

    Hi mrskimber. I joined this site for my mom. She has multifocal 5 tumors, largest being 9mm by ultrasound.. Her mastectomy is tomorrow.. Her ultrasound of the "healthy" breast showed areas of concern, I think 5 also, and they were biopsied.. Benign! But she does have pain in her cancerous breadt which I hear is uncommon. Also, bilateral bc is unusual, BUT a woman in our support group did have it.. Did you have any testing on the other side?

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  • Janetanned
    Janetanned Member Posts: 532
    edited August 2012

    One year ago this week a mammogram found a suspicious area in my right breast.  That led to another mammogram and eventually a biopsy of the suspicious mass.  The biopsy found DCIS.  Even though my left breast was clear on the mammogram, my BS ordered an MRI of the left breast.  That found more questionable stuff in my left breast.  An MRI guided biopsy was performed and that found LCIS and ILC in my left breast.  So, yes, one could have cancer in both breasts.  I don't know how common this is though.

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  • Beckers
    Beckers Member Posts: 1,883
    edited August 2012

    Hi there. No it is not common. I forget the percentages but it is low. I was diagnosed with IDC in my right breast and then the radiologist spotted calcifications in my left breast. The day they biopsies my right, they took a closer look at the left and said it was fine. Then I got a call from radiologist on my way home saying she saw something unusual when doing my write up, which ended up being DCIS. It is called synchronous breast cancer. Good luck to you. I have not found a lot of info on it either. I know the standard is to treat according to side with higher stage.

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  • peggy_j
    peggy_j Member Posts: 1,700
    edited August 2012

    Sorry to hear you're going through this. As an FYI, prior to my lumpectomy I had an MRI for both breasts, so they were definitely looking.

    I believe a B-MRI is standard/common prior to a lumpectomy. Not sure if they do it for a Mx, but you could ask your doc. Good luck.

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  • sherry67
    sherry67 Member Posts: 556
    edited August 2012

    I had a B-MRI before my mx...

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