44 and just diagnosed in both breasts. Is this common?

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Teach22
Teach22 Member Posts: 3
edited June 2017 in Just Diagnosed

Hello ladies:

I've been reading a lot on here the past few weeks and finally have some results so I can ask some questions here.

On June 2nd I was diagnosed with DCIS (no hormone receptors were tested...long story) I met with the surgeon and decided that the bilateral mastectomy was my best option. She then ordered an MRI and they found another suspicious 8mm mass that had not turned up on the mammogram. I had a biopsy yesterday and she called me today and told me it was "invasive" based on the preliminary pathology report. It's located deep.

I have surgery scheduled next Thursday with tissue expander placement.

So my question...is this common to have it in both breasts at an early stage? Of course my mind is going crazy thinking that this is all over my body because of the headaches and medical problems I've had for the past few years.

When they do the surgery and look at the lymph nodes do they have any answers for you right away or do I have to wait 7-10 days for the full pathology report? She said something about dye in the nodes, but honestly I was so in shock on the phone I heard very little.

If the cancer is found in the lymph nodes does this warrant a PET scan?

I'm feeling a little better today now that I know some of what I'm dealing with but I'm still very worried.

Any information you have would be so appreciated.



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  • Falconer
    Falconer Member Posts: 1,192
    edited June 2017

    Teach22-


    I'm sorry you have joined us here. My situation sounds like the reverse of yours- the doctor knew I had 1.1 cm of invasive ductal carcinoma but then a subsequent MRI showed another 5 cm of DCIS. This took several weeks, actually a month to sort out. It is harrowing, the waiting, as many others will concur. I did not have a bilateral mx though, as my right breast was clear on the MRI. When you have the BMX and the sentinel node biopsy, the pathologist will determine the lymph node status at that time. Things can change once the nodes are sent out for further examination but the pathology is pretty clear from the start. Good luck- youll find support here
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  • MinusTwo
    MinusTwo Member Posts: 16,634
    edited June 2017

    Teach - you need to get those hormone stats.

    And your latest biopsy was reported as "invasive". That means it is no longer DCIS, but ICD or ILC or another variety. If it's invasive, they should test for HER2positive. If you are HER2+, they often start treatment with neo-adjuvant (before surgery) chemo because herceptin is such a game changer.

    If you can't get these test results back before by next Thursday, and have a consults with a medical oncologist about the results, I would delay the surgery.

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  • ChiSandy
    ChiSandy Member Posts: 12,133
    edited June 2017

    The dye doesn’t indicate whether the nodes are malignant or not—what it does is travel to the first nodes in the chain that drain from the area of your breast closest to your tumor, which are called “sentinel nodes.” The dye (and sometimes also a nuclear tracer injection) helps the surgeon locate those nodes, which are removed (along with any non-sentinels stuck to them) and biopsied.

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  • Teach22
    Teach22 Member Posts: 3
    edited June 2017

    Falconer - Thank you for your reply. I believe that is what she told me as well that they will know something after the surgery. This has been a very harrowing few weeks. I think the not knowing has been the worst part. Thank you for the support here! I've had three replies and I already have more information than I remembered from my 4 doc appts. It's so hard to process this when I keep hearing a new diagnosis every week.

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  • Teach22
    Teach22 Member Posts: 3
    edited June 2017

    MinusTwo - Thank you so much for the information! I'm hoping they have the hormone stats today. They were never ordered by my OB/GYN on the left side (DCIS) so they are between hospitals mailing slides back and forth. The results on the right side (IDC or ILC)should be here by Monday. Nothing was mentioned about Herceptin before the surgery. I need to look into that. I don't even have an oncologist yet! YIKES! I need to get on that now.

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  • MinusTwo
    MinusTwo Member Posts: 16,634
    edited June 2017

    Teach - they design treatment for the invasive cancer. They may not have tested for HER2+ since you were originally presenting with DCIS, but it does make an important difference in treatment.

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  • SummerAngel
    SummerAngel Member Posts: 1,006
    edited June 2017

    As for your question about how common bilateral BC is, I've read a lot of studies and the rate of bilateral invasive BC is about 3% of cases. I haven't been able to find statistics about invasive on one side and non-invasive (DCIS) on the other, but it seems to be more common, maybe up to 10% of cases (just a guess).

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  • MinusTwo
    MinusTwo Member Posts: 16,634
    edited June 2017

    Yes, lots of us had a BMX due to disease in one, only to find after the mastectomy that there were indeed brewing problems in the "good" one.

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