Bilateral IDC

Whoa Annake! That is sooo unusual! Hopefully someone else will respond who was diagnosed bilateral. I know folks are out there though would be a smaller percentage... Please check back in once you've met with the oncologist tomorrow. I'm assuming you're having the CT just prior to that appointment. I hope all turns out well with that!

Hi Annake - As you can see from my bio, I was diagnosed with bilateral BC (IDC and DCIS) about 5 months ago. My tumors were smaller than a centimeter (8mm, 5mm, and 5mm if I recall correctly). All were grade 1-2, strongly ER+/PR+, and all of the IDC was HER2-. I ended up getting a skin/nipple sparing bilateral mastectomy, direct to implant reconstruction. Both my surgeon and oncologist said that, while it isn't terribly common to see synchronous bilateral breast cancer, it also isn't particularly rare. In my case the cancer was very slow growing and had probably been there for a good long time. Because of the small size of my tumors, the low Ki-67 index, low oncotype score (9), and clear nodes and margins, chemo and radiation were not recommended for me. I am taking anastrozole for the next five years, with zometa infusions every six months for the next three years.

Wishing you all the luck in the world as you pull together a treatment plan!

I also had bilateral breast cancer, but unlike some others, both sides were invasive. For me, one side was triple negative, while the other was hormone positive. They focused on the most aggressive cancer, the triple negative, so I had neoadjuvant chemo, followed by a bilateral mastectomy. Even though I had one node positive for a micrometastis, I chose not to do radiation.

Have they given you any information on your hormone receptor status? That, and your node status will drive your treatment plan.

Good luck. I hope everything works out for you.

Trish

SummerAngel - The surgical path report showed that there was a small amount of IDC in the (primarily) DCIS tumor on the right side, so I did have IDC in both breasts - all medium-low grade and slow-growing. My apologies, I should have been more specific in my original comment.

Annake - Great news that your CT scan was clear! That's a big hurdle, and one less major thing that you have to worry about right now. I'm glad you've got an initial treatment plan in place - hopefully it's helping you to recover a sense of control.

My reconstruction was direct-to-implant, so unfortunately I can't be of any assistance with your specific DIEP flap question. In addition to the first hand experiences you will undoubtedly hear from others on this site, your breast surgeon should be able to give you informational literature on the surgery and recovery. I will say that I had a relative with me for the first week after my surgery, to keep an eye on me the first few days when I was still loopy from the anesthetic and pain medications, as well as to help with stuff around the house, driving to doctors' appointments, and that sort of thing. Even with my much less complex surgery, it was about a month before I was back to mostly normal. Bottom line, you will probably need some assistance. If you've told friends and family about your diagnosis, then you've undoubtedly heard a lot of, "What can I do to help?" Take people up on their offers, and give them specific things to do - they will be truly grateful to be able to help you out.

Continued best wishes to you.