Need help with understanding Pathology report

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Jasmin_Kim
Jasmin_Kim Member Posts: 1
edited January 2020 in Diagnosed and Waiting for Test Results

Hello, this is my first post. I have an appointment to meet with a surgeon this Thursday but wanted some clarification on my current diagnosis. I was diagnosed with IDC last week grade 1/3 with no macrocalcification. What does grade 1/3 mean,3.6cm cyst with septations and debris? What does ER 90 percent and PR 60 percent and HER2 (waiting for FISH result) mean? Thank you for your time.

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited January 2020

    Dear Jasmin_KIm,

    Welcome to the BCO community. We are sorry for you diagnosis and glad that you reached out for information and to connect with our members. Others will be along to respond to your questions but take a look at this link to information about your Pathology Report. It might be helpful. Let us know how we can continue to assist you in staying active here on the discussion boards.

    The Mods

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  • Ingerp
    Ingerp Member Posts: 2,624
    edited January 2020

    I can answer some of your questions but honestly I've forgotten a lot! There are many wise and knowledgeable women here. As a start. . .

    The tumor grade has to do with how different from normal cells the cancer cells look. 1 is good!

    Breast cancer tumors have three features--estrogen receptors (ER), progesterone receptors (PR) and HER2 (another growth factor receptor measurement). ER/PR+ means your tumor is fed by those hormones. It's likely that Tamoxifen (if you're pre-menopausal) or an aromatase inhibitor (if you're post-menopausal) will be recommended. Your initial HER2 testing (IHC) was equivocal, so they're doing a further test (FISH) to determine if your tumor is HER2+ or HER2-.

    Try to take this a step at a time. Many ER+/PR+/HER2- women do not need chemo, and there are lots of different chemo drugs out there. This site has a lot of really knowledgeable, very sympathetic, and you'll find many with a diagnosis similar to yours. In the meantime, one step at a time.

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  • windingshores
    windingshores Member Posts: 704
    edited January 2020

    Grade 1 is the best grade to have. You can google grade and find out the components, which include proliferation.

    If your HER2 is negative, and since you are ER positive, you will probably have an Oncotype test to let you know risk of recurrence and usefulness of chemo. So far it seems most likely you won't have chemo.


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