Just diagnosed yesterday & a newbie

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PugsMama
PugsMama Member Posts: 463
edited December 2016 in IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)

MRI biopsy revealed IDC, 8mm tumor, ER+/PR+ (Right breast) MRI didn't show lymph node involvement but we won't know for sure until they go in. No other info yet. Appt. with breast surgeon on Monday. There's another previously biopsied something also on the right side that was negative before but now looks funky on the MRI. This wasn't biopsied during the MRI procedure bc it would require more of an invasive excision & they didn't want to go there unless this one was negative, which of course it isn't. I'm 57

I'm committed to bilateral mastectomies bc of very strong family history & BRCA2. My mom, who was diagnosed at age 59 had bilateral breast cancer & has same BRCA2 mutation. She had a double mastectomy. She's 82 now & had no other recurrences for the past 23 yrs, thank God

I'm thinking they'll just go ahead with the mastectomies rather than more biopsies...does that make sense?


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  • KBeee
    KBeee Member Posts: 5,109
    edited December 2016

    It definitely makes sense being BRCA2 positive. I hope the meeting with the surgeon goes well. Look through the surgery forums here for suggestions on questions to ask. Best wishes

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  • PugsMama
    PugsMama Member Posts: 463
    edited December 2016

    thank you, great suggestion. If you don't mind me asking, it looks as if you had a recurrence after your mastectomies. Where did the spots reappear? Hope you're doing well now

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  • PugsMama
    PugsMama Member Posts: 463
    edited December 2016

    Hi BosumBlues (love that name!). Thanks for your encouraging words on my prognosis! This weekend having only limited info is an intro into trying to muster up the patience I'm going to need though out this process! My mom & I were both tested & share the same BRCA2 gene mutation...reading back on my post I can see I wasn't too clear on that....in addition, my grandmother had breast cancer, great-grandmother had ovarian cancer...I've been in a high risk screening program for years. I've had quite a few biopsies over the years (4 clips on the left & 2 on the right). Because of that, I've always thought of my breasts as ticking time bombs

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  • KBeee
    KBeee Member Posts: 5,109
    edited December 2016

    They will likely want to remove your ovaries as a prophylactic due to BRCA2.

    Recurrences can happen after mastectomy; they just are not as common. I felt s lump at the spot of my first tumor. They were "sure" it was scar tissue but I know the only way to be sure is biopsy, so thankfully I requested one. The second tumor at time of recurrence was found under the edge of the pec muscle in the soft tissue. Cancer is sneaky sometimes, and all it takes is a rogue cell or 2, which is why surgery is typically followed by other treatments

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  • exercise_guru
    exercise_guru Member Posts: 716
    edited December 2016

    Pugsmama

    I think it is fine to go ahead with the bilateral mastectomy. In my situation I had three biopsies before they did a dbl mastectomy and they didn't find out the true staging until after the surgery. The only difference would be if you have sentinal node biopsies on both sides ( which is what I did) or just the side that is confirmed. In my case they thought the right side was DCIS but came back IDC after surgery. I have the PALB2 Gene and DB

    I would probably want to put my focus on getting the best results from surgery and making sure oncotypes etc were done rather than continue to mess around with Biopsies. I interviewed a few Plastic surgeons etc.

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  • PugsMama
    PugsMama Member Posts: 463
    edited December 2016

    Thanks for your great feedback

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  • PugsMama
    PugsMama Member Posts: 463
    edited December 2016

    thanks, hope you're ok now...

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  • exercise_guru
    exercise_guru Member Posts: 716
    edited December 2016

    I am doing well. Thank you . I found that the initial staging to be the most emotional and overwhelming. I intensively researched and put a lot of time in finding someone I trusted who was a strong breast surgeon followed up by a plastic surgeon I trusted. Still I felt rushed because of the diagnosis. You have a lot more options now depending on where you live and what surgeons are available. I chose implants for my own reasons but Many women have the availability of DIEP. The only thing is I would strongly ask about sentinel nodes on both sides because you can only do that before the mastectomy so if they find Something on the other suspicous side you will wish that they had done it. Everything has risks so its best to talk to your breast surgeon about it. In my case because of the DCIS (RT) HER2 in my breast surgeon and I agreed to do Sentinel nodes on both sides.

    Heres a bit more of my story.


    There is only one reason to put of surgery for more biopsies. That is if they suspect nodes are involved because in many cases they will do Chemo first. This did not apply in my case and I didn't have that option as the tumor was small and node negative so I went straight to a DBL mastectomy.

    I also had a total Hysterectomy in December after Chemo. Hopefully you will not need chemo though as My Left Side was HERpositive. You will know once you get more info back as far as oncotype etc.

    In my situation they did the left biopsy and were sure I wouldn't probably even need radiation and then the test came back HER2positive so Chemo no matter what. At that point I was deciding on a lumpectomy because I didn't know about the GENE yet. So I insisted they follow up on the Right side since it was suspicious. The biopsy found DCIS but it was spread all throughout my breast so definitely needed a mastectomy on that side. At that point I decided to do reconstruction and a DBL rather than 1 lumpectomy and 1 mastectomy. It was good I did because surgery revealed Two small areas of IDC in the right breast that the mamogram and biopsy missed. It was two weeks after my surgery that I found out about the GENE results. I went and met with a GYN MO and he felt strongly about the Hysterectomy/ OOphrectomy.

    It was a crazy year but it made me stronger and now I am finished with reconstruction and getting things back to normal.


    I am sending warm thoughts and healing wishes to guide you through this journey.


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