2 different types of cancer in seperate breasts-anyone else?

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  • pink_is_my_colour
    pink_is_my_colour Member Posts: 308
    edited June 2017

    Well, here goes. Saw the Chemotherapy Oncologist today. Didn't realize there were specialists within Oncology.

    Friday, June 16 will be my first round of Chemo. I get three rounds of Fluorouracil, Epirubicin, and Cyclophosphamide. Then after that another three rounds of Docetaxel. CAT scan from last week shows something in my lumber spine. Oncologist thinks it could be a Hemangioma of the vertibrae. One thing she said that I thought was kind of odd was that if the cancer does come back it'll be stage IV.

    And so it begins. Hoping that I'll be lucky with few side effects.

  • jworrell
    jworrell Member Posts: 9
    edited July 2017

    I finished my 4 rounds or AC. They were rough, but I survived. Now Im doing 12 weekly rounds of Taxol. I just finished number 11, so 10 more to go. Has anyone else done weekly Taxol? It seems to be less harsh than the AC so far. I'm able to at least function somewhat normally, but I've only had 2 rounds. Not sure how I'll feel as I get more into it. I'm having restless legs, which I've had before, but seems worse with treatments. Any advice?

  • avmom
    avmom Member Posts: 324
    edited July 2017

    jworrell, make sure that your nursing and oncology team know about your restless legs. I had leg discomfort so severe when doing Taxol (I did 4 dose dense, on a two week cycle, not weekly) that I was prescribed morphine just to get some sleep. I also ended up with pretty severe neuropathy by the end (both hands and feet) but my feet are still not normal, after more than 2 years I did not ice, but you might ask about whether icing your hands and feet during infusions might help.

    AC was rough for me, too. Some things about Taxol that were different from the AC were, for me:

    *. I had a bunch or neurological symptoms, including some expressive aphasia (searching for words - chemobrain), some facial tics and eye twitches, some incontinence - by the end, i would joke that I couldn't cough without peeing my pants, and any flatulence was only safely expressed in the bathroom!

    *. My tummy tended to be very acid, though that was kept under control with OTC Zantac (300 mg/day). I was still pretty nauseated, so it might have been related to the masses of anti emetic drugs I was consuming

    *. Watch your fingernails and toenails. I moisturized mine and kept them polished, but they got pretty loose.

    2 down, 10 to go. You've got this!

    Donna

  • avmom
    avmom Member Posts: 324
    edited July 2017

    jworrell, make sure that your nursing and oncology team know about your restless legs. I had leg discomfort so severe when doing Taxol (I did 4 dose dense, on a two week cycle, not weekly) that I was prescribed morphine just to get some sleep. I also ended up with pretty severe neuropathy by the end (both hands and feet) but my feet are still not normal, after more than 2 years I did not ice, but you might ask about whether icing your hands and feet during infusions might help.

    AC was rough for me, too. Some things about Taxol that were different from the AC were, for me:

    *. I had a bunch or neurological symptoms, including some expressive aphasia (searching for words - chemobrain), some facial tics and eye twitches, some incontinence - by the end, i would joke that I couldn't cough without peeing my pants, and any flatulence was only safely expressed in the bathroom!

    *. My tummy tended to be very acid, though that was kept under control with OTC Zantac (300 mg/day). I was still pretty nauseated, so it might have been related to the masses of anti emetic drugs I was consuming

    *. Watch your fingernails and toenails. I moisturized mine and kept them polished, but they got pretty loose.

    2 down, 10 to go. You've got this!

    Donna

  • Libber
    Libber Member Posts: 86
    edited July 2017

    Hello jworrel and all. Yes I had two different types. On the left side. Stage 1. ER/PR positive. HER2 negative. Grade 1. On the right. Stage 1 grade 3 triple negative. I had 4 A/C dose dense chemo sessions followed by 4 Dose dense Taxol sessions. Had bi-lateral masectomies and 28 radiation sessions on right side. Then 6 months of Zeloda. Also reconstruction with silicone implants this past December. I have been on an AI inhibitor for just over a year now.

    I have endured treatment for both. Have worked through all. Has not been fun but doable. I work in healthcare industry. Have had tremendous support through all and I know I am fortunate in that regard. Also DH is retired and played a tremendous role in supporting me through all of this.

    SE's can be frustrating but those go away after treatment. I did have neuropathy. A few accupuncture treatments resolved that. I am T1 Diabetes 37 years so have an extra predisposition to that issue.

    There are few of us with different types in each breast. But my docs assured me this does not change the outcomes. Focus on treating the more aggressive side/type. I am only about 1 1/2 yr cancer free but no more concerned than others at this point in my recovery.

  • bareclaws
    bareclaws Member Posts: 345
    edited July 2017

    I have/had three different types of breast cancer: IDC triple positive and invasive mucinous on the left, DCIS ER-, PR-, Her2? on the right. Started with TCHP which made me very sick. Had to start over with AC, then BMX with clear nodes and margins ( no recon, followed by Herceptin and 12 Taxol. I finished the Taxol today-yay! I'll continue the Herceptin weekly to finish a year. Five weeks of rads coming up, then Femara or equivalent for ten years. I hope to do it all. Keep running, keep my weight down. Live my life. MO says I should have at least 75% chance of no recurrence. But with so many variables, it's hard to predict

  • obsolete
    obsolete Member Posts: 466
    edited July 2017

    Having had incremental BC 3 & 4 years ago, concern & worry have become my "new normal", even though I'm not constantly preoccupied with BC, as I originally had been. One eye, I think, always shall remain open to other possibilities out of fear of the "unknown". Not only with rarer exotic BC subtypes, there are still too many unknowns in BC.

    [Multi-centric DCIS grade-III, Mixed Invasive Mucinous grade-II multi-focal, Invasive Solid Papillary grade-II, LX & BMX, hormone therapy, ER/PR+ HER2-]

    Never quit believing. Best wishes to all.

  • Nrflorio5
    Nrflorio5 Member Posts: 1
    edited December 2017

    hey you're not alone. i have just been diagnosed 2 different type of cancer same breast. A her 2 positive and estrogen positive in two different tumors. the her 2 treatment is tchp for me chemo I'm not sure what the other will be

  • LizMarie1
    LizMarie1 Member Posts: 3
    edited January 2018

    I was diagnosed with DCIS left breast and LCIS right breast, had a BMX, clear margins, lymph nodes no cancer, no chemo or radiation or tamoxifen required , ER/PR negative.

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited March 2018

    My right breast was Stage 1 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma Grade 1/3 +/+/- with calcifications that were Focal Atypical Ductal Hyperplasia. Diagnosed 3/6/17.

    My left breast was Stage 1 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma Grade 3/3 +/+/+ with a group of nodules that were Ductal Carcinoma In Situ. Diagnosed 3/21/17.

    I did chemo with Taxotere, Carboplatin, Perjeta & Herceptin first. Then I had a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction in Sept. I had my exchange surgery in Dec. I started my maintenance Herceptin treatments shortly after surgery and I have one to go!! I am on Tamoxifen. I started it in the fall, too.

  • JADS6517
    JADS6517 Member Posts: 1
    edited March 2018

    I had IDC & ILC in the same breast. They also identified LCIS during the surgical pathology study. I had BMX in Nov 2017 with immediate reconstruction (TE and 2 weeks ago the implants placed). No node involvement. There was nothing left of the ILC at surgery (the radiologist took 12 samples during the biopsy ~ I guess she got the whole thing...no wonder I was hurting so bad after the biopsy).

    My big concern is that they are acting like that second cancer site doesn't matter, doesn't play into the treatment plan at all. How can that be? I had an Oncotype score of 10 on the IDC tumor. They didn't test the ILC at all. No chemo and no radiation ~ both of which I am grateful for but I have concerns. Is this being treated correctly? So scared it will come back.

  • jworrell
    jworrell Member Posts: 9
    edited March 2018

    I meant to post earlier, but I finished all treatment Dec. 8th 2017. It was a rough year last year, but I'm grateful to be done. I still have a fear the cancer will return. Everytime I have any ache or pain, I instantly think it has returned. I hope that gets better with time. I'm on Tamoxfin currently. I go for my 3 mth follow-up next month. This experience has definitely made me a stronger person.


  • Meow13
    Meow13 Member Posts: 4,859
    edited March 2018

    jworrell, Sounds like your chances are pretty good that you've seen the last of the cancer. Good luck.

  • coachvicky
    coachvicky Member Posts: 1,057
    edited March 2018

    @ JADS6517

    When you write: My big concern is that they are acting like that second cancer site doesn't matter, doesn't play into the treatment plan at all.

    That could have been me speaking.

    I had those same types of nagging questions. My insurance allowed me to go out of state for a second opinion of my entire treatment. I paid the copay and travel expenses. It was well worth the trip. I got all my questions finally answered from someone who does not know my hometown oncologist or where he works.

    After much thought, I wrote my oncologist a nice letter thanking him for his care and that I would be seeking follow-up care at another facility. I probably should have done this earlier but as you know there is so much going on it takes time to catch a breath.

    Best wishes.

    Coach Vicky


  • kod
    kod Member Posts: 2
    edited March 2018

    I was diagnosed with IDC in right breast in November, 2017 and had mastectomy in December. Oncotype DX came back with a 12 so no chemo. Then last week I had reconstruction on right mastectomy side and a lift and allograph to make other (left) breast symmetrical. As they removed some of that tissue from the non-cancerous breast they sent it off to the lab. Results came back 5 days later that I have ILC in that breast. I'm sure it was there all along. I want to know why they didn't do a more thorough examination of that breast (knowing I had dense tissue) before the mastectomy in December! They might have found ILC with an Ultrasound and could have done a double mastectomy. And this is MD Anderson! Waiting to meet with them this week!

  • Peregrinelady
    Peregrinelady Member Posts: 1,019
    edited March 2018
    I am surprised that they didn’t have you get an MRI before first surgery, Kod. Or at least before second surgery. Maybe because you weren’t getting the breast removed? I am glad they found the ILC, but it could have been sooner.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited March 2018

    I'm sorry, kod. I'm surprised they didn't send you for an MRI, too. After they found the mass in my right breast my surgeon sent me for an MRI on my left breast to make sure we weren't missing anything. I had very dense breast tissue on the left side. I thank God she did because the MRI showed an aggressive mass twice the size of the other side that was undetected by mammogram. They went back thru 3 years of my mammograms to see if it was missed.

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

    kod, welcome to Breastcancer.org. Indeed, these are good questions to ask your treatment team next week. Very glad for you though that they found it!

  • jworrell
    jworrell Member Posts: 9
    edited March 2018

    I also had MRI before my surgery, once they found cancer in the loft side. That's how they found the right which ended up being 5cm! It didn't show up on ultrasound or mammogram, so thank goodness they found it. It had already gone into 2 lymph nodes. I don't know would have happened if they hadn't found it. The left was stage 1, but the right ended up being stage 3.

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited March 2018

    jworrell, your story sounds so much like mine. I wouldn't have known there was cancer in the left side had we not done the MRI. The mammogram didn't show it. The left side was an aggressive mass and twice the size of the right side. So had we not done the MRI I hate to think where I would be now or down the line. I thank my surgeon for that. And will always credit her for saving my life!

  • April8
    April8 Member Posts: 65
    edited April 2018

    Me too-July 2014, surgery September 2014. Her2+ tumor on right side, ER+, Progesterone + tumor on left side. Chemo, Herceptin and radiation. Arimidex daily.I'm still here.

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