Anyone have cancer in both breasts?

Dovely
Dovely Member Posts: 91
edited November 2018 in Breast Reconstruction

I have IDC grade 1 on both sides. I was curious about others with this same experience. Left came first and right was a surprise after MRI (super dense tissue) Getting a BMX on Wednesday. Any other bi-laterals out there? Is it really that rare?

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  • carmstr835
    carmstr835 Member Posts: 388
    edited October 2018

    I was diagnosed with bilateral IDC of 2 different types. But diagnoses and biopsies done at the same time. My original mammogram only found the tumour in my right breast, but I insisted on a radiological consult and the tumour was also visible on the left breast, but missed by the first radiologist. They did further Ultrasounds and biosied both, both were IDC however only 1 was Her2+ and only 1 was progesterone +

    so right breast was ER+PR-Her2+ and left breast was ER+PR+ and Her2-.

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  • ksusan
    ksusan Member Posts: 4,505
    edited October 2018

    DCIS on one side, IDC and DCIS on the other.

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  • Legomaster225
    Legomaster225 Member Posts: 672
    edited October 2018

    I have bilateral cancer too. Left breast was not found until surgical pathology after my BMX.

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  • rachelcarter35
    rachelcarter35 Member Posts: 368
    edited October 2018

    Yes in both. I initially found it in the right side only but because my breasts were dense my surgeon wanted me to do a MRI on both sides. It went from a lumpectomy to mastectomies during surgery countdown. Not only was it in both but also in two different quadrants on the right side.

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  • Luckynumber47
    Luckynumber47 Member Posts: 397
    edited October 2018

    Thank God for MRIs. The mammogram showed the IDC in my left breast but the right breast looked clear (very dense breasts) The MRI found aggressive DCIS in my right breast so I also went from a lumpectomy to a bmx. I figured if I could grow something that aggressive then I wanted them both gone and myBS agreed that it was a good decision.

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

    yup. Me too.

    Found lump in left...

    Mammogram showed a ton of bad dcis which after core biopsy showed evidence of spill. Double mx and double full axilla clearance...after which

    2nd tumour found in left breast and 1 node pos. In that side.

    I remember being cross that both sides of axilla nodes were taken as they never found an actual tumour in right breast beyond initial spill from dcis.

    However...10 years later I had a new primary in right...

    This time quite large ILC tumour...no clear margins and I was thankful afterall that nodes had been removed.

    Best of luck with your treatment.



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  • SummerAngel
    SummerAngel Member Posts: 1,006
    edited October 2018

    I'm part of the group. I had a palpable lump on the left, and the right was found by MRI (didn't show up at all on mammogram due to extremely dense tissue). Doing great now!

    Synchronous bilateral invasive breast cancer is rare, less than 10% of all cases. (I've read many studies about it.)

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  • Dovely
    Dovely Member Posts: 91
    edited October 2018

    SummerAngel, I think our dx is pretty similar. I have a 2 cm tumor in the left and another spot in left,other upper quadrant, small but kind of scattered, Grade 1. Right side two tumors one benign and the other IDC, same kind. They BARELY found the right (found on MRI) and it was super hard for them to get the biopsy because the tissue was so dense, had to try three different needles!

    I panicked when I heard both, it's hard enough to get told you have BC once, then twice!!! It's helpful to hear I'm not alone in those. My BS said while she doesn't see it weekly, she does see it pretty frequently which is interesting.

    Today is my last day with my actual boobs. I am having a nipple sparing, direct to implant bmx. I'm sad to see them go, but I'm also so mad at them that mostly I feel “good riddance"! I'm nervous about the surgery, and hoping my nodes are clear.

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  • Yaniza
    Yaniza Member Posts: 140
    edited October 2018

    Both sides. I found a small tumor on my right side which proved to be cancer and after the pathology report came back there was found to be a small mass on the left side. Mammograms and biopsies didn't show it. I opted for a bilateral mastectomy not because I thought there was something on the left side but because I wouldn't be able to stand the worry and I was able to avoid radiation.

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  • Dovely
    Dovely Member Posts: 91
    edited October 2018

    Yaniza, I was also strongly leaning towards bmx even after one spot, but my decision was made “easy” by the other ones. I think I would have been way too nervous about the presumed healthy boob all the time.

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  • SummerAngel
    SummerAngel Member Posts: 1,006
    edited October 2018

    Dovely, it does sound like we have similar cases. The doctor had a tough time getting to the mass on my right side, too. He used his full body weight to lean into me to get through the dense tissue.

    I hope your nodes come back clear!

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  • Trishyla
    Trishyla Member Posts: 1,005
    edited October 2018

    Add me to your list. Both breasts, one side triple negative, the other side er/pr positive, her2-. Also had five kinds of cancer and seven tumors. According to my breast surgeon I win at cancer bingo! Not something you really want to win.

    Eleven months of chemo, double mastectomy with immediate recon and no rads. Tried to do an AI, but had debilitating side effects.

    Wishing you all the best.

    Trish

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  • Polly413
    Polly413 Member Posts: 124
    edited October 2018

    Not at the same time. DCIS in right side 2000 and IDC in left side 2017. Lumpectomy without further treatment in 2000 and lumpectomy with chemo and hormone treatment the second time. Not a fun club to be in. My genetic tests came back negative and there is no breast cancer in my family. Polly

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  • nash
    nash Member Posts: 2,600
    edited October 2018

    L breast 2007. Chemo/lump/rads. Local recurrence while still on Tamoxifen, 2015. R breast 2018. Brain mets found same year while on neoadjuvant chemo.

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  • Peacetoallcuzweneedit
    Peacetoallcuzweneedit Member Posts: 233
    edited October 2018

    I had bilateral too - DCIS in my left and IDC in my right....IDC found after Double MX on surgical pathology

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  • aisling
    aisling Member Posts: 25
    edited November 2018

    I was dx with DCIS in my left breast in 6/16, ER/PR+ (lumpectomy but I declined radiation & tamoxifan, happy to closely monitor and deal with it if it recurred). Then dx with DCIS in my right breast 6/18 and decided with my BS that a BMX was the best option -clearly my boobs were eager to create breast cancer and if I did only do a lumpectomy (even w/ Radiation & tamoxifan) the risk of something recurring again on one side or the other felt significant... and there was no guarantee it wouldn't come back as something invasive. I am not BRCA positive but my mom was also diagnosed with DCIS 5 years ago and there is a lot of cancer in my family. Even I am a cancer survivor (Hodgkins Lymphoma when I was 19... had a bone marrow transplant) so no matter how early we might catch it I wanted to avoid the need for future chemotherapy or radiation like the plague. Body has been through enough. BMX was 8 weeks ago. I hope you recovering well from your BMX and your nodes were negative! Keep us posted.

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  • akmom
    akmom Member Posts: 272
    edited November 2018

    Core biopsy showed DCIS in both breasts. Second time for the right (lumpectomy and rads 6 years earlier) so had to have MX on that side; opted to treat the left with MX as well. As it turned out there was DCIS only in the left, DCIS plus IDC in right breast.

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