Beast cancer - autocorrecting my way through a diagnosis...

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kaywrite
kaywrite Member Posts: 219
edited February 2018 in DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)

Hi, I'm Kay. Earlier this month Facebook shared a five year-old memory with me - one in which I was discussing my mother's lunch cancer with a cousin. It was supposed to be lung, but autocorrect got me, again. It was funny timing, I thought, because I'd just googled beast cancer, instead of breast. Not funny because the beast is mine.

I was diagnosed with DCIS on 12/20/17, after an abnormal routine mammogram on 11/10, a diagnostic mammogram on 12/10 (the doctors office mailed my abnormal results instead of calling me - I never got the letter and only found out when my gyn's office called after Thanksgiving to ask why I hadn't scheduled a follow-up exam), and then a brutal stereotactic biopsy on 12/14. Anyway, surprise!

Today I have stage 0 DCIS in my left breast - or did. Just before my lumpectomy on 1/23, the surgeon popped in to tell me that all of the calcifications (three) had been taken during the stereotactic biopsy. I've read through enough of the threads here to know this COULD mean the DCIS is gone - unless it isn't. I'll get my pathology at the post-op appointment this Friday, 2/2. I admit, despite my stalwart readiness for the truth, I am scared.

For now I just wanted to introduce myself to this community. Like all of you, I was stunned by the diagnosis, flung into a dizzying quagmire of decisions I didn't feel ready to make, and bewildered by medical administration. This forum has really helped ground me, provided me with pertinent information, and allowed me to read about other journeys. I am grateful.

I'm looking forward to reciprocating in any way I can, without acronyms or embarrassing autocorrects.

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited January 2018

    Autocorrect is indeed sometimes humorous (sometimes not!). We appreciate you sharing your experience, and we are hoping that your 2/2 meeting goes smoothly with no surprises! Thanks for posting!

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  • ps0705
    ps0705 Member Posts: 122
    edited January 2018


    Sorry you have to be here but glad you found this board. Hope you are healing up quickly.

    I hate auto correct and yet it allows me to misspell words all the time but corrects real words to something.

    My favorite meme.....Auto correct, I'm tired of your shirt




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  • kaywrite
    kaywrite Member Posts: 219
    edited February 2018

    UPDATE - the beast goes on. My path shows they did not get all the DCIS. It is still stage 0 grade 1 - that is the good news. The not so good is another lumpectomy on Monday. Yeah. More later...

    Love your auto corrects! :

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  • 32B
    32B Member Posts: 238
    edited February 2018

    Hi kaywrite,

    Sorry you have to be here. I was diagnosed with DCIS grade 2 on January 12th. This is all very new to me as well. Sorry to hear that not all the abnormal cells are gone, but as I'm sure you know, grade 1 DCIS is as good as bad news gets.

    I'm actually scheduled for MX next week. My surgeon told me a second LX still might not get everything, and with every LX, reconstruction looks worse. Not to scare you, I'm just interested in different treatment options because I feel so overwhelmed with all this. I hope everything goes well for you on Monday and they get it All. Best wishes!

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  • Georgia1
    Georgia1 Member Posts: 1,321
    edited February 2018

    Welcome Kaywrite and I will keep my fingers crossed for you on Monday. So glad it's stage ) and grade 1.

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  • kaywrite
    kaywrite Member Posts: 219
    edited February 2018

    Thank you Georgia1, 32B, and ps0705. I've been following your posts and thank you for both the kind thoughts and cheering me on. I feel comforted and understood by you all. So - yes, add me to the list of second surgeries. It looks like this is what happened: A small corner of the DCIS was shedding micro calcifications, three of them in a group. This is where they performed the stereotactic biopsy, removing all of the calcifications, and embedded the chip. Immediately after the biopsy I had another sitting-up mammogram that was rather gruesome because the biopsy site was bleeding so bad. I wondered how the chip could stay in place under those circumstances. I was leaving the country for the holidays though, so carried on with a golfball-sized hematoma that had to be lanced and emptied during my first lumpectomy.

    Back to the hypothesis: my OS believes the original biopsy caught a mere corner of the DCIS. Yesterdays pathology showed clean margins with the exception of the anterior, where the entire 1.5 cm specimen was positive for DCIS. This is, of course, larger than the 2.9 MM originally reported.

    32B, I was wondering how you were doing. Thanks for updating me. Best of everything to you next week, too. I can relate to all of the uncertainty and the anxiety of all the unknown. in my case there was not a significant change in my left breast after the lumpectomy. We haven't really discussed mastectomy as an alternative yet, considering my surgeon said there was absolutely no difference in prognosis. That said, I have no issue taking these puppies off if I need to. None at all! I would not, though, do reconstruction. I'm 59, small-breasted, and simply not interested. I completely understand and respect the choice to have reconstruction, though - most everyone near and dear to me who has had to deal with breast cancer has elected to have some sort of reconstruction. I have a cousin who recently tested positive for the BRCA gene and had a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy, using her tummy skin and fat for breast tissue. She just had 3D nipple tattoos in December.

    If this lumpectomy doesn't resolve everything, I don't think I'd opt for a third - I think I'd go with a BX (if that's the right acronym :) ), and eventually get some body art (although I've never had a tattoo). I hope I don't have to make that decision. But if I do I'll know I'm not alone.

    Appreciate you all.

    Kay

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  • 32B
    32B Member Posts: 238
    edited February 2018

    Hi ladies,

    Kay, thanks for your input. I'm a little worried about reconstruction just because it's even more surgery, but I think it's the right thing for me. One reason is that I'm still hoping to have kids, and if I'm pregnant/breastfeeding with one enormous boob, and flat in the other side, well, that would look very silly.

    Good luck to everyone fighting the "beast!"

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  • kaywrite
    kaywrite Member Posts: 219
    edited February 2018

    32B, ha! I completely get it. So I saw you were in a Feb surgery group and visited, thanks for the tip. Anyway, for anyone interested, I posted about buying a microbead neck pillow,like you'd use on a plane. I used it last night to keep my left boob immobilized and comfy while I am sleeping on my left side, or back. Being confined to one position while sleeping made me stiff and sore. In an already crappy situation. Worked like a charm

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  • kaywrite
    kaywrite Member Posts: 219
    edited February 2018

    Checking lumpectomy #2 off the list. Surgeon went in through the same incision, which was already healing nicely. Now, if I can get some clean margins....post-op 2/16.

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  • kaywrite
    kaywrite Member Posts: 219
    edited February 2018

    Seriously, I just posted in another forum, using an iPad with bad wifi at the library. Here's what I typed vs what autocorrects tiny little brain wrote:

    Me: Sure, you could forego rads and meds with MX, but....

    Autocorrect: , oin uld foregoing adaptions ndexter Edson, email AIDS, ute....

    <smh


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  • MelissaDallas
    MelissaDallas Member Posts: 7,268
    edited February 2018

    Autocorrect changes my surname to "degenerate"...

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  • Georgia1
    Georgia1 Member Posts: 1,321
    edited February 2018

    Good luck Kaywrite! As least you still have your sense of humor.

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  • Jae_Cali
    Jae_Cali Member Posts: 2
    edited February 2018

    Hi Ladies,

    I too was recently diagnosed with DCIS. I'm so happy to have found this community. I love reading the posts and reading all the support!

    I also had a routine mammogram in November, was called back in the following week for a repeat mammogram with ultrasound. The following week I was sent for a stereotactic biopsy. I was officially told I had DCIS the day before Thanksgiving.

    It has been scary and overwhelming to say the least. I do not have breast cancer history in my family, so this diagnosis came as a shock.

    I started reading about DCIS and options… Since it is Stage 0, I opted for a lumpectomy, which was completed January 11th. There was a delay getting the pathology report (two weeks). My surgeon called to let me know that my case needed to be presented to the Tumor Board (the board meets next week). Due to the location of the DCIS, my surgeon was not able to get the correct margins, as it was against the chest bone. I will find out next week what the verdict is and may potentially have to have surgery again. I have met with the oncologist, and will be meeting with the RadOnc next week to discuss radiation therapy. However, depending on the outcome of the discussions at the Tumor Board, therapy might be delayed.

    I was finally able to read my pathology report and after reading my results, high nuclear grade DCIS, I'm concerned about the potential for reoccurring cancer. I feel conflicted about what to do and am now thinking if a mastectomy is a better option given the grade.

    I would love to hear your experiences and thoughts about this.

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  • kaywrite
    kaywrite Member Posts: 219
    edited February 2018

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  • kaywrite
    kaywrite Member Posts: 219
    edited February 2018

    Me: Getting a second opinion.

    Autocorrect: Getting a seance.

    <sigh>

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  • kaywrite
    kaywrite Member Posts: 219
    edited February 2018

    Me: with positive margins after my second lumpectomy....

    Autocorrect: with positive Margo's after my second lumpectomy....

    (always nice to have a positive friend)

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