Recurrance after 6 months of treatment

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Soorya
Soorya Member Posts: 11
edited September 2018 in Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis

Hi All

I was diagnosed for stage 2 (1 to 3 nodes positive) with triple negative breast cancer.Had my masectomy,chemo and radiation

When i went for a routine check up ,we found a peanut size lump,did a biopsy and they confirmed the recurrance.

i completed my radiation in July only.Any body heard any sort like this?

I am really worried now.I have my scans schedule tomorrow

Need some hopes and lots of prayers


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  • farmerlucy
    farmerlucy Member Posts: 3,985
    edited November 2017

    Soorya - What terrible news! You must feel devastated. I'm so sorry. Gentle hug to you,

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  • mistyeyes
    mistyeyes Member Posts: 584
    edited November 2017

    Soorya, So sorry that you are going through this again. Praying for you..

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  • VL22
    VL22 Member Posts: 851
    edited November 2017

    Soorya- I am so sorry you have to go through this. I pray your scans are clear and you can remove this lump and move on. I have seen this happen to a couple of women when I read through the TN threads. They are from a few years ago and the recurrence was taken care of and then they were cancer free - no spread. Please know your in my thoughts.

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  • Soorya
    Soorya Member Posts: 11
    edited December 2017

    Thank you so much VL22

    This gives me hope.I had my scans today and waiting for the results


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  • Soorya
    Soorya Member Posts: 11
    edited December 2017

    Thank you every one for the support

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  • Lucy55
    Lucy55 Member Posts: 3,044
    edited December 2017

    Soorya ..Thinking of you , snd praying for great results from the scans .

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  • KBeee
    KBeee Member Posts: 5,109
    edited December 2017

    Hoping your scans are clear. I had a recurrence 14 months after chemo. Cancer free, so far, since then

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  • Soorya
    Soorya Member Posts: 11
    edited December 2017

    Hi All thanks for the wishes

    My CT and bone scan came clear

    Even the lump didnt come up in CT scan which concerns me.

    But anyways i am waiting for my surgeon and oncologist appointment next week.

    This time my doctor said surgery and then chemo.Not sure if this is right approach

    Also how will be chemo for recurrance.Will it be same tiring or will it be milder.

    Any thoughts in this will be great

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  • GreenEyes81
    GreenEyes81 Member Posts: 389
    edited December 2017

    So glad to hear!

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  • VL22
    VL22 Member Posts: 851
    edited December 2017

    Soorya- I was thinking of you today - so happy the scans are clear! Have you thought of getting a second opinion if you are uncertain of course of action?

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  • KBeee
    KBeee Member Posts: 5,109
    edited December 2017

    Glad your scans were clear. My recurrent tumors never showed on CT either.

    Can you update your profile with which chemo and such you had? That helps people understand when commenting. I had TC chemo the first time and AC+T the second time. It may depend on your tumor pathology, etc. One day at a time!

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  • buttonsmachine
    buttonsmachine Member Posts: 930
    edited December 2017

    Hi Soorya,

    I haven't posted before, but I thought I should because you and I have some similarities in our situations.

    I was diagnosed a little over a year ago at stage 1 and had a lumpectomy, SLNB, chemo, radiation, and tamoxifen. Six months after I completed radiation my cancer was back and growing again, not far from where it was before.

    I did go for a second and third opinion, which was helpful. One facility said we might be dealing with persistent disease rather than recurrent disease. Basically, it might be that my cancer was resistant to treatment, and never really went away. My PET scan was clear. :-) I recently had surgery, and soon I'll start a more aggressive chemo and hormone regimen than I had last year. Hopefully that will take care of it.

    It is worrying and scary, and for me it was very hard to face going through treatment again so soon. Are you young by chance? I was diagnosed at 32, and I'm 34 now. It seems like breast cancer behaves differently in young women. Anyway, I'm wishing you the best during this difficult time!

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

    Dear buttonsmachine,

    Welcome to you and thank you for sharing your story with our members. We hope that you will find support here among our members and information that can help you along the way. Let us know if there is anything we can do to help you to navigate the boards. We look forward to seeing you here. The MOds

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  • Soorya
    Soorya Member Posts: 11
    edited December 2017

    Hi Buttonsmachine

    Thanks for replying.I am also 35 yrs old.Completed masectomy,radiation and Chemo 4 months back.Now i am having recurrance.My CT and bone scan are clear.

    But i have to go through surgery and chemo again

    As of now very scared

    Is there any case to show recurrence is cured completely?

    I am not able to find any and so very much scared now

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  • Manuella
    Manuella Member Posts: 50
    edited December 2017

    Sorya and Button, I am also in my mid 30s. Stage 1B, Oncotype 16 (Luminal A). Had mastectomy/chemo (finished May 2017) and started Tamox in July. I just found a 2mm lump“persistence" at the original biopsy site/scar. Apparently this is called needle track seeding and it's not as uncommon as they make it sound. Still unsure what my treatment plan is. My PET came back clear. had a lumpectomy on my mastectomy this past Friday and will be getting radiation for sure. Still no idea on chemo/hormonals :( I have my fingers crossed for you both. Hugs!

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  • Soorya
    Soorya Member Posts: 11
    edited December 2017

    Hi Manuella

    Thanks for the reply.I am also going to get surgery now.Not sure about the treatment plan

    Hope at least now it will not come back


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  • buttonsmachine
    buttonsmachine Member Posts: 930
    edited December 2017

    Hi Manuella and Soorya,

    It's great that your scans are clear! And according to the oncologists I've seen, there are many people who have a local recurrence and are able to be cured completely. I hope that's us. I never thought I'd be going through this in my 30s, especially not twice.

    That is so interesting about the needle track seeding! I didn't know what it was called, but I thought that might be what happened to me because my persistence/recurrence was right between the lumpectomy site and initial biopsy site.

    It looks like I'll be starting AC chemo as soon as I'm healed enough from the mastectomy. It would have been ACT, but I had a bad reaction to Taxotere last year and they are afraid to give me more taxanes. Haven't quite worked out what to do about that yet - sometimes I worry that just AC isn't enough. Also, since my cancer managed to grow a lot on Tamoxifen, I will switch to ovarian suppression and AIs after chemo is over.

    Hugs and I hope you are both hanging in there!


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  • GreenEyes81
    GreenEyes81 Member Posts: 389
    edited December 2017

    Thank you all for sharing, I have been lurking and following along. lol I have a new lump...but in the other breast. Only have one left at this point. I was trying to understand if this is cancer, then it would just be a "new" cancer? Not a recurrence/ocurance? Basically, has nothing to do with the cancer that was found on the right side?

    It was multifocal on the right....just seems if there is more on the left is should be part of "focal". Have to wait till the 3rd to get it checked out, trying to not to stress. However, somehow this seems worse than the first time when I was much less educated. lol

    Anyone know if treatment for a "new" cancer is the same as if you never had cancer? I guess I am scared the most because before you could not feel any lumps. This one is small, but i can feel it....so thinking stage could easily go up. Sigh....

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  • AnnieTater
    AnnieTater Member Posts: 66
    edited December 2017

    Hello. Looks like I've also been diagnosed with a recurrence less that a year after treatment.

    Same cancer, same breast. Multifocal.

    Meeting with surgeon Thursday morning.

    I'm glad a found a little group going through something similar.

    Annie

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  • KBeee
    KBeee Member Posts: 5,109
    edited December 2017

    Sorry so many of you are going through this. It is so much more challenging mentally the second time around. Physically, I knew what to expect, so I dealt with this better, but mentally, I had to get out on many LONG, LONG walks in desolate areas which is where I could vent, scream, cry, etc and not scare my family. :) The hardest part was between the diagnosis and treatment. Once treatment was underway, I bulldozed through, and I know all of you will too. Support each other along the way, and remember we're all here for you. We get it.

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  • buttonsmachine
    buttonsmachine Member Posts: 930
    edited December 2017

    Thank you for the encouragement KBeee! Hi Annie and Greeneyes81, I'm sorry you're in this situation but thanks for posting.

    How is everyone doing? Any new developments?

    I am supposed to start A/C chemo next week. This morning I woke up and noticed a new little lump near my mastectomy scar, and it feels kind of like the recurrence lump that I just had the mastectomy for... that can't possibly be cancer again right? I guess I'll be calling my surgeon. Hopefully she doesn't think I am crazy but better safe than sorry.

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  • KBeee
    KBeee Member Posts: 5,109
    edited December 2017

    For sure, call your surgeon!!! Let us know how it goes. I know everyone says AC + T is so much easier that TC, but for me, I did better on that regimen. I took my antinausea meds round the clock (set my phone alarm) days 1-5 during AC, kept up on anti constipation meds during that time, and I did really well. I am hoping your new lump is nothing concerning, and hoping you do well with the chemo. Keep us posted.

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  • buttonsmachine
    buttonsmachine Member Posts: 930
    edited December 2017

    I saw my surgeon about the new, post-mastectomy lump, and they want to just start chemo and watch it. They don't want to biopsy it because of the infection risk when starting chemo, and they also don't want to delay chemo. Kind of makes sense, but needless to say that was an unsatisfying answer!

    As I learned last time, my cancer is fast-growing and can do a lot of damage in a short amount of time. Last time it spread to two lymph nodes while we "watched it." I'm skeptical. Might get a second opinion on this. I'll see the MO next week before first chemo day and hopefully get a little more clarity on this. Breast cancer suuuuucks!

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  • KBeee
    KBeee Member Posts: 5,109
    edited December 2017

    can they at least ultrasound the lump? That will pose no risks, but will allow you to more accurately track if it is changing

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  • buttonsmachine
    buttonsmachine Member Posts: 930
    edited December 2017

    Yeah I would feel better if they would at least ultrasound it. I will ask for an ultrasound when I go back in early January. I think it's one of those situations where their medical experience/training tells them that statistically it probably isn't cancer, but I know how my cancer feels since I've been through this before. I hope I'm wrong, but this feels like deja vu. If nothing else, breast cancer has taught me to advocate for myself and be more assertive - time to do that I guess.

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  • marijen
    marijen Member Posts: 3,731
    edited December 2017

    Where I go an ultrasound is less than $300 before insurance, so keep that in mind if they bulk at an extra test.

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  • mdstblz
    mdstblz Member Posts: 1
    edited August 2018

    @Soorya - that is exactly where I am at. I was diagnosed in may of 2017, had a lumpectomy, chemo (AC+T) and whole breast radiation and finished up in January on this year. Took Anastrazole until new diagnosis, and am on Tamoxifen now.

    Just found out a lump near previous one is cancer. Scheduling a double mastectomy, pondering reconstruction....

    Oncologist is saying he would not give me chemo again

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  • buttonsmachine
    buttonsmachine Member Posts: 930
    edited August 2018

    Welcome mdstblz, although I'm sorry you're going through this. This thread has been quiet lately, but it's the one I first posted on too. As it turned out, the new lump I posted about back in December was cancer again. I hate it that I was right, but I was right! My cancer came back after a lumpectomy, and a skin sparing mastectomy. It seemed very mysterious at the time, but I have since relocated to an NCI designated cancer center. Now I realize that there were missed opportunities and mistakes in my care before, which contributed to my cancer continuing to come back.

    Anyway, if you're not being treated at a top cancer center already, try to at least consult with one. Have their tumor board review your case before you start the next phase of treatment. That way the surgeons, medical oncologists, and radiation oncologists can all weigh in on what to do. It really does make a difference for those of us in more complex situations. I hope that helps, and very best wishes to you as you go through the next steps.

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  • Soorya
    Soorya Member Posts: 11
    edited September 2018

    Hi Mdstblz


    Sorry to hear about recurrence. What treatment are you taking now.

    Can you post the treatment plan


    You are always in my prayer

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