Newly Diagnosed and Scared!!

I ended up with either 8 or 11 - two pathologists reviewed and it's somewhat judgmental re how to deal with the space between the lesions. Anyway all grade 1 except a teeny spot found during my mastectomy (had lumpectomy first). No spread to nodes and a low oncotype.

Good luck - I thought the initial waiting until getting a treatment plan was the hardest. It got better after I knew what was coming.

Kimm, sorry you need to be here. It is a nightmare, for sure. My very small tumor spread to the nodes & also had extranodal extension. ( Cancer bursting out & growing on the outside ). Until you have the surgery & get the patholgy report, it's a guessing game.

I would assume that your chances are lower to have a lumpectomy with so many tumors.

The hard part in the beginning is the waiting & the unknown. Keep busy, if you have high anxiety, ask for something. This website helps to get info & be honest.

Kimm, sorry to hear about your diagnosis. As long as your cancer remains in the breast area (which includes the axillary lymph nodes), it will be considered early stage. I had a tumor that was over 5 cm., and it had spread to one lymph node. I was Stage IIIA. It was considered "locally advanced," but not Stage IV, metastatic to the other parts of my body.

I also tested positive for HER2. It did mean chemo, but chemo works really well on HER2 cancer because that tends to multiply quickly. Best wishes!

kimm, i am sorry. I certainly understand what you are feeling and going through. It is so hard. When I was first diagnosed I remember physically shaking for weeks. When they did my ultrasound and biopsy they initially said I had five tumors. I was her2 positive as well. At the time of my mastectomy I actually had two tumors instead of 5. They were very close to each other with some benign cysts. That could be a possibility in your case as well. From what my doctor told me at the time, having multiple tumors does not mean that it could spread into your body any more than a single tumor. They count each tumor separately. They do not add the sizes together. In my case I had one 1.4 cm and another 1 cm tumor. Try to take it one day at a time. Sending warm thoughts your way

I was told the same thing. I had 3 tumors and was so worried that meant my particular cancer knew how to move and grow in other spots. Doctor said they all grew separate of each other and I would be staged based on the size of the largest tumor only. He said statistically the results are the same as if it was only tumor. I was lucky that no cancer was found in 3 nodes taken during mx. He did, however, say he used the fact that I was multicentric/multifocal in determining whether or not I should do chemo. I did and it's been a year and I'd do it again if it would help more! Good luck to you as you navigate this crazy journey. You will feel better as a plan is put in place and you know exactly what you're dealing with.

Hi, I too was recently diagnosed with invasive adenocarcinoma grade 1. Still waiting for HER2 & other pathology results. Will find out those results October 28.

Wish I knew which course of action to take. So confused!!! Chemo then lumpectomy, mastectomy, ARGHHH!

It is a guessing game for sure. You had 7 spots but three were cancer and still stage 1.....for now. Hard to guess whether the cancer has spread but the number of tumours isn't the main factor. I have to be honest that the Her2 indicates a more aggressive cancer that WILL respond to chemo and Herceptin well. And it is still a small tumour. Even if you have 3 nodes with cancer, still can be treated successfully. Sop can more than three nodes for that matter. In any case you will be offered chemo and Herceptn and hopefully your ER/PR status will be positive so you can take antihormonals. You WILL be obsessed for awhile...we all have been and may still be....normal. Be well and wishing you the very best!!!

Fingers and toes crossed for you Kimm!

TikkasMom, I had a similar diagnosis, although I was grade 2 instead of your 1. I would not say that I chose a treatment per se, I did what my doctors recommended. They did not present it to me as a choice, although I suppose that I could have chosen to not do some or all of it. In other words, my BS did not say: "which do you want, lumpectomy or mastectomy?" She said, "I recommend a lumpectomy." With the chemo, my MO said that the it was close, but the tumor board recommended Taxotere and Cytoxin, but that she wasn't going to prescribe Adriamycin because she felt it was too risky since it can cause leukemia. But she did tell me that they weren't going to handcuff me to the chair and that I could certainly choose to not do it, or to stop doing it. I know myself, and if the Cancer ever returned and I didn't do absolutely everything I could to prevent it, I would never forgive myself.

So now big decisions ahead. Lumpectomy or double mastectomy (if insurance will allow). Family history remarkably strong. 3 generations of all women on my Mom's side. My Sisters and Cousins opted for double mastectomies for fear of getting it and they're all fine and older than me. Something to be said for preventative surgery.

Good luck all in our journey!!!

Kimm992 -- I've just been diagnosed also. I don't even having staging yet. I have another biopsy this coming Friday because on the MRI they did last week they discovered another spot. It could be a hematoma from the original CNB they performed but they have to be sure. So, I'll be waiting for more results until next week. I do know that it's IDC, but my surgeon doubts it's more than Stage 1. Of course, if this "new" area is OK, then I'm looking at a lumpectomy combined with some radiation therapy. If it's more IDC or other type, then I'm probably looking at a mastectomy. Hoping there's no lymph node involvement but of course won't know that til after surgery. It sure has been a long week and a half for me so I feel your pain. I do know that what's there is ER+/PR+. Just not staging or grading yet. Good luck to you!!!