Didn't Quite Make It To Ten Years....

So I was originally dxd with multifocal IDC, Stage 1A in my left breast in 2011.

Because of vague imaging results on the right side (heavy, dense fibrocystic breast tissue) and a familial history, I decided on a BMX with immediate recon with TEs and saline implants. I got to skip chemo and rads thanks to no lymph node involvement, and clear margins well away from the chest wall. The final path report showed no evidence of cancer. (!)

I started Arimidex shortly thereafter, but had to take a break at the six month mark due to disabling side effects. After a short drug vacation, I completed another six months, but again, had to quit. I switched to Femara, and the SEs were even worse.

The MO said she felt confident enough to let me stop taking them completely, which I did after a total of 18 months on the AIs.

In January 2021, I noticed two tiny nodules right above my suture line. They were the size of BBs and palpable under the skin. We decided to watch and wait. By June 2021 one had grown to the size of a pea, and was visible above the skin.

I went in for a biopsy on July 15, and the path report came back positive for papillary carcinoma with microinvasion.

My head was spinning. The good news is that papillary carcinoma is one of the more rare cancers, and one of the least fatal. It's ER/PR+, and Her2-.

I'll see the RO this month for a consultation, but my MO does not advocate for rads. She wants to start me on Tamoxifen, which is a whole 'nuther topic!