3A - 3C?

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Ddelorable
Ddelorable Member Posts: 7
edited October 2017 in IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)

I just had a double mastectomy 3 weeks ago, received my pathology and 10/12 lymph nodes came back positive. I was shocked because I was under the impression I only had 4 positive lymphs to start, and was confident I would not need radiation. Now that I know I also need radiation, and I don't have a follow up with my onc until the 31st, I did some research and it looks like having 10 positive nodes changes my stage, is that true? I am absolutely terrified. I have two small children (2&3), and I thought this would be behind me after surgery. Now my pathology report is reading LVI (lymphvascular invasion) as extensive.

Are they any long term survivors out there with this type of diagnosis? I am still hoping, praying, begging this is something I can walk away from.

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited October 2017

    Hi Ddelorlble!

    Ye, we are sure there are many long term survivors in our boards with this type of diagnosis, and hopefully they'll post here soon!

    Cancer stage is based on four characteristics:


    Here is the whole article from our main site that will help you better understand Stages of Breast Cancer.

    Hope this helps!

    The Mods



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  • xxyzed
    xxyzed Member Posts: 230
    edited October 2017

    I am not a long term survivor but know that they exist. They initially thought I had 6 enlarged lymph nodes. I ended up with 20/20 cancerous. I was diagnosed as stage 3C and they still considered me curable but with a high risk of recurrence. I was diagnosed May last year and am still undergoing treatment and still have another 12 months of treatment to go but no sign of the cancer being back yet. I didn’t think I would make it this far and am still standing so who knows. Unfortunately with 10 positive nodes and small children they will strongly recommend aggressive treatment which really does wear you down. I’m hoping it’s worth it in the long run

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  • Ddelorable
    Ddelorable Member Posts: 7
    edited October 2017

    thank you for your response! I am not sure how much more aggressive treatment can get since I've already done a DMX and 20 weeks of chemo, but I'm sure they'll surprise me 😂

    Thank you for giving me hope this can be beat. As long as I have some hope I can avoid a stage 4 diagnosis I think I can get by. I know a lot of women thrive with 4, but I am just not mentally prepared to be there. I NEED to beat this if possible 😞 Good luck with your treatments and thank you for giving me hop

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  • Ddelorable
    Ddelorable Member Posts: 7
    edited October 2017

    thank you! I hope so too

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  • xxyzed
    xxyzed Member Posts: 230
    edited October 2017

    Are you hormone positive or her 2 positive? Both of these types have extended treatment options. They will also likely recommend suitable trials. There are quite a few people on this forum with lots of positive nodes still around. Breast cancer statistics also say that more people than not with lots of positive nodes manage to not recur. Our statistics are worse than lower stages but still better than a lot of other cancer types. Mentally I try to prepare myself to be in it for the long haul. Realistically it is what it is but I’m hanging in there

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  • Ddelorable
    Ddelorable Member Posts: 7
    edited October 2017

    I Ann ER/PR+ HER2- although my new pathology report indicates there could be an addendum to that initial diagnosis. When I see my oncologist next week I am going to beg for a scan. They saw a spot on my liver early on in a CT scan, but my oncologist believed it was not related based on his experience. So I'm going to beg to have another one to further identify what that is. My insurance would not previously approve a petscan based on my 3A diagnosis. I just used the calculator linked above and I suspect I'm right about being 3C now. Hopefully insurance no longer pushes back on further testing

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