Looking to find advice and suggestions

sorry, I misunderstood. I thought she had the tumor removed. T1B relates to the size of the potential tumor. One thing I asked for before surgery is that my surgeon go for wide margins around the growth because then there is less chance for stray cancer cells to remain behind. At this point you won't be able to figure out anything else until the tumor is removed.

Right side is better than left, in my opinion, because the left side is more problematic with radiation for the heart, but they have gotten a lot more focused with radiation treatments.

When I was in your wife's situation, awaiting surgery, I did my best to not think about things and just wait until after surgery to focus on treatment. I know it isn't easy, but there isn't much more you can do right now until the growth is removed and you know what the receptors are. My tumor was twice the size of your wife's, and my surgeon said mine was tiny, don't panic, get through surgery and treatment, and then try to move on with your life.

Hang in there, and keep us posted on how things go

Husband, you sound like a loving and concerned spouse. I can really identify with your wife because I've only been on this road for about 2 months. One of the most maddening things, I think, is the seemingly slow pace of progress. First, you have the mammograms or ultrasound...and wait for the results. Then you have a biopsy...and wait for the results. Then you have the next step, either lumpectomy or in some cases mastectomy...and you wait for results. And then you see the oncologist, who will do various tests (for which you will wait for results) to help figure out whether you would benefit from chemo and/or hormone suppressing drugs (and obviously, these steps can be rearrranged to fit each individual woman).. If no chemo, you go see a radiation oncologist who will set up the radiation. Nothing happens quickly, I'm afraid. Lucky for us, breast cancer is not usually a fast-moving cancer, so we have time to get our heads wrapped around the whole idea of breast cancer, and make a good plan without feeling like we're rushing into anything headlong.

This is the time for you two to be asking questions, lots of questions. Be sure you write them down and write down the answers the doctor gives you. Understand that you may have to ask the same question more than once, and maybe more than twice. That's very common. I used to work in the NICU, with very premature babies. We understood that parents were under tremendous stress and whatever we told them, they would need to ask over and over, sometimes 6-7 times. We never got mad about it. It's just the way the human brain acts when we're under duress.

Tell your wife, if she is interested, to come drop in to the Lumpectomy Lounge. https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/91/topic/800729?page=264#post_4501543

They are a great group of ladies. Some have been there a long time and others, like me, have only been there for a few weeks, but we have a great time and they have been wonderful support for me.

I second getting a breast MRI. I did that before surgery so the surgeon knew what to take out going in. And if they find more, no sense putting your wife through a lumpectomy only to then have to do a mastectomy.

Gentle hugs, and please keep us posted

There are amazing women on this site who know so much about fighting this disease so ask away and someone will be able to answer your questions.

Dear Husband,

Like plumster1, I, too had a lumpectomy and intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) meaning that after the breast surgeon did the lumpectomy, the radiation oncologist administered 20 minutes of radiation directly in the tumor bed DURING surgery. I left the hospital that day with minimal pain and no need to drive daily for radiation treatments over the course of 5-7 weeks since it was done in surgery.

I highly encourage you to google "intraoperative radiotherapy" and the city you live in to see who does it.

It was really worth it for me and all of us who have had it done.

Lastly, yes, during surgery, my breast surgeon removed the tumor and 3 lymph nodes. The lymph nodes are then sent to the lab to determine if cancer is in them.

After surgery, the oncotype DX test was ordered by the medical oncologist. This test is done using the actual tumor obtained by the lab from the hospital. They look at the genes in the tumor itself to determine how likely the tumor is to recur. The results of this test will determine if one will need chemotherapy. I get the results from this test on Tuesday. Only one company does all the Oncotype DX tests (they developed it) and their website has many helpful videos. Google Genome Health to learn more about this test.

I know this is overwhelming and scary -- I was just there myself. As someone described, it is like being in a war we didn't sign up for. This board has been a lifesaver.

Hugs!

That's fantastic news!

dtad, you didn't ask me personally but since you asked...I have dense breasts and by the time IDC was caught by a mammogram it was already stage iv but at the time of my mastectomy, we didn't know that bad news yet. My MO had me do a breast MRI prior to my scheduled lumpectomy and since that MRI revealed a large diffused area of DCIS (couldn't see on mammo) the whole breast had to go. My other side looked clear on the MRI.

I think, as does my Oncologist and my medical malpractice attorney best friend (who told me to insist on one before surgery--fortunately my MO brought it up first) that a breast MRI must be done before surgery.