Large Mass, No lump

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CanuckPrincess
CanuckPrincess Member Posts: 22
edited December 2014 in IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)


My cancer measures 10cm x 3 cm x 4cm. I am triple positive and so far no evidence of node involvement. I do not have a lump, no doctor has been able to feel anything through the last 8 weeks of diagnostic procedures. Only thing that got me into the doc was a 'weird' pain in my left breast.

Every time a different doc examines me they tell me how strange my presentation is!!

I start chemo in the next couple of weeks which will be Pertuzumab and Paxlitaxel to start then a round of Cyclophosphamide and Adriamycin before my mastectomy. Herceptin as well.

Nobody else seems to have these same characteristics as mine...figured I would reach out.

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  • Annie54
    Annie54 Member Posts: 247
    edited December 2014

    Hello,

    My lump was not as large (3 cm) but also was difficult to feel. I went to the doctor due to pain in my breast and a slight nipple discharge that only lasted 1 day so I'm glad I noticed it. The doc said my lump was more like a pancake....long and flat. Apparently it formed much like lava spilling out of a volcano(duct) and was more of a thickness than a lump.

    I did chemo (Taxotere, Carboplatin) and Herceptin. Not a walk in the park but not bad either (for me) I'm self employed and worked all the way through as I'm a single Mom and the only source of income. Herceptin was a piece of cake...I called it my golden elixer as it is a powerful weapon against HER+ bc. I'm now almost 2 years post dx and on most days don't think about the cancer. My doc told me in the beginning that I'd have a tough year of treatment but then could put it behind me and get back to my life....and surprisingly for the most part that has been true. I am a realist and know I'll never be totally out of the woods but for the most part life goes on and I'm feeling pretty normal. Having hair again helps a lot :)

    Good luck and hugs to you!

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  • Morwenna
    Morwenna Member Posts: 1,063
    edited December 2014

    I did have a lump, which turned out to be a complex cyst. They put it at 3.8cm longest diameter, but once they had aspirated it and taken a bunch of core biopsies, it was very hard to feel.

    After my lumpectomy they found positive margins at each end of the 8cm piece they removed, so they sized my tumour at "in excess of 8cm", and I proceeded to have a mastectomy.

    In the end I was not quite sure how big the cancer was, but most of it didn't show on mammo or ultrasound, and it was barely palpable, as I say, so I have no confidence the other breast is clear, and I'm headed for PMx and bilateral flap reconstruction Jan 6!

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  • CanuckPrincess
    CanuckPrincess Member Posts: 22
    edited December 2014


    Good luck with the rest of your journey! I start chemo tomorrow. I am Canadian now living in the USA so our healthcare system is quite different. My cancer is multifocal (four separate spots all originating from the original tumor). I have been felt up by three medical oncologists, a Med Onc Fellow, a radiation oncologist, two internists, two breast surgeons, two plastic surgeons...all since October. The Fellow at Mayo Clinic has been doing ONLY breast cancer for the last three years and he had never seen a presentation like mine. With my arms at my side, there is no noticeable difference between the breasts, only when I lift my left arm above my head is there evidence of nipple retraction. Not one of them has been able to feel any lump.

    The first group of doctors I saw did no MRI and wanted to proceed directly to surgery. The Mayo group said they wouldn't do surgery before chemo because the margins are not definite on MRI and also due to the size of the tumor. They also want to make sure there are no micro-metastases throughout my body.

    I am ER+ PR+ Her2+ with no family hx of any cancers (and I have a very large family).

     

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  • CanuckPrincess
    CanuckPrincess Member Posts: 22
    edited December 2014


    I cut 10" off my hair last week in anticipation of the hair loss. I am more concerned about it being harder for my younger kids to see me lose long hair than about losing it. The doctors cannot even feel a thickness or any breast abnormalities...even knowing exactly where it is located! It's the strangest thing. Mine is shaped more like a small piston!

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