great news creativevintage!

gamzu, so sorry for all the twists and turns you are going through right. I've attached a link that I think will help you with your research on Lumpectomy vs Mastectomy. It was written by Beesie and is a great resource.

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/91/topics/868997?page=2#idx_40

Thanks, everyone. I've also just noticed on the MRI report that the radiologist had the date of my LMP wrong; is this worth bringing up or does it not matter? I was actually on day 2 during the MRI and I told the tech but it apparently didn't get filtered through as they had the date of the last cycle. My cycle is regular but usually around just 21 days so if the radiologist was assuming average then they would have thought it was day 20 of the last cycle with a week still to go. My understanding is that the hormones and breast changes are not the same at these points.

Thanks, morrigan. I did ask when my surgeon's NP called this morning and it doesn't sound like it matters.

MRI biopsy has been scheduled for Tuesday. They are able to do all 3 sites in one go, which will probably make for an unpleasant day but which is good news for my sick leave. I thought I was heading straight for chemo but from the conversation with the NP they want me to get the biopsy info and the genetic testing results (supposed to be back within 2 weeks) and use that to help my decision-making on mastectomy or not, because if I go that route then they'd do the SNLB along with it instead of separately and then we'd go from there. I guess because we are not rushing to shrink a large tumor and it may have in fact already been removed there are a few ways this could go that I wasn't anticipating.

Adulting and making decisions sucks. I get annoyed by having to decide if I should go to the store now or later. This life-altering stuff is for the birds.

Coach Vicky, just now reading messages. Please know that I am thinking of you and praying for your husband. I am so very sorry that you both are having to go through this. My heart is with you.

Genetic testing just came back, negative for everything. I guess it's a good thing, though it would have given an answer to the "Why me" question and eliminated the need for the next biopsy or any waffling about surgery decisions. Onward to the MRI biopsy on Friday, I guess. I just want to know WHAT we are doing and WHEN.

gamzu, glad to hear it wasn't inherited/familiar!

I'm still waiting on genetics and pathology. It feels like forever.I can see the benefit of having a genetic reason to help make some of the decision easier. Its hard making all these choices. Having three kids I'm so desperate for my genetic testing not to be familiar / inherited.

Good luck on your biopsy Friday!

MRI biopsy was ugh. They were only able to get 2 of the 3 sites because the radiologist was concerned that with the position I was in to access those, getting the third site would basically require impaling my breast. And of course the third site was the most suspicious one. So I have to come back in 3 weeks to do that one separately in a different position. That was the earliest they could manage, but realistically it would be probably a 2 week wait at best anyway because they don't like to give contrast twice in the same 10-day period.

I'm fed up. Not with the radiologist--if it isn't safe, it isn't safe. But just with the reality of how long this could be dragged out and how traitorous my breasts are being. I am strongly, strongly leaning towards BMX at this point anyway. The thought of continuously going through these MRIs and biopsies every year waiting for something else to go bad is extremely unappealing. At this point I am almost perversely hoping one or both of these sites comes back as DCIS next week so my decision is made for me but even if they come back benign I probably won't trust it given my first mistaken needle biopsy. It's Labor Day and then Rosh Hashanah and I'm going to percolate on this, wait for the initial biopsy results, and then call my surgeon's office for a conversation late next week if I still feel the same way. My main lingering question is if BMX recovery would delay chemo unnecessarily with triple-positive, but other than that I am sick of all this and can't imagine going through it repeatedly.

gamzu - if you are leaning toward BMX would you still do the biopsy? Or skip the upcoming one if the biopsies you just had done reveal an issue? Do you have the option of neoadjuvent chemo? If not, food for thought is that for the vast majority of triple positives surgery came first prior to 2013 and the advent of Perjeta use for early stagers. If you read from the beginning of this thread, started in Jan of 2011, almost none of us had neoadjuvent chemo, including me. I had surprise positive nodes which required another surgery for ALND, surgical skin healing complications and expander removal, so another three surgeries, and due to all of that was delayed getting to chemo beyond the suggested 30 day optimal window. It seems to have worked out ok for me despite those delays, but it is important to recognize that unexpected complications can occur, but that they are not the norm. Remember that if the breast tumor has been removed chemo and Herceptin are functioning as body-wide clean up. My breast surgeon initially suggested lumpectomy but I opted for BMX because I image poorly, had a history of previous biopsies and issues over 20 years, and I figured if I could make cancer in one breast, I could do it in the other. Everyone has to make their choice by weighing risk/reward, and what offers peace of mind. My BS was fully on board with my choice, which turned out to be the right one as I had DCIS that had been unseen on any imaging modality, and undiscovered ADH and ALH in the prophy breast, as well as positive nodes that escaped detection with MRI even though they met the size threshold and should have been seen.

Good morning group!

gamzu- sorry it’s been bigger for you. I feel like we may be in similar boats with small tumour/DCIS. My DCIS didn’t show on any scans.

Finally after 3 weeks my pathology is back! The original tumour is only 8mm (yeah!) and not 15mm as measured pre-op. 4 lymph nodes were taken and they are clear! However they did increase my grade from 1-2. Margins for IDC were clear.

I am confused now though bc they found DCIS that was multifocal on one side of my tumour. They said 7/25 slides - but I don't know really want that means. It's also grade 2, I got a printed result from my GP- my surgeon hasn't called. It was located in the inferior aspect of the sample.

I 100% would just go with mastectomy but I'm really limited in my choices of plastic surgeons and both are poorly rated. I'm thinking of maybe getting the mastectomy and paying somewhere else for reconstruction. I am also crazily thinking of doing chemo and then getting a breast reduction lift (out of pocket) and letting that heal- then seeing if I can get a referral for a nipple and skin sparing mastectomy out of province since no one here does it. I think based on pathology I'm stage 1A so I feel like it's not - panic. The tumour was far from skin, muscle and nipple. I often wish I lived in a different province- Covid is soaring here and our government isn’t really doing much. I am not even eligible for a vaccine booster.

SpecialK- I'm glad you shared your delay experience. I'm panicked to get chemo started but it seems like I'll prob be slow on getting that started.

gamzu, hi. i just got diagnosed on aug 9 (my 24th wedding anniversary) with IDC stage 1B, ER+/PER+/HER2+.

I already had 2 biopsies. i will be getting genetic counciling on September 17. i have no other known breast cancers in my immediate family but i do have 2 daughters. i started chemo yesterday. i was in the office 8 hours; doctor said she wanted to start agressively. i will be going every 3 weeks for 6 cycles (same as you i think). then surgery, then radiation. i am also thinking about double mastectomy. i wanted that going into this just because i wanted to get it out and never have to worry about it again. lol. we'll see when the time comes to talk to my surgeon, but i'm really thinking that is my plan. i am 53 years old. Been pretty healthy up until this point in my life. I do have a lot of support and am trying to keep positive. Hope you are too!!! We can do this!!!

Does anyone here use Latisse? My eyelashes and brows have never fully recovered from chemo. They need some help. I considered microblading, but everyone that does microblading seems to want to give you really unnatural looking brows, as if they've been tweezed, plucked, and filled. I just want my old wooly bears back. Plus, microblading won't do anything about my lashes. I can't wear makeup to work so these are my options.

Hi hapa,

I did use latisse prior to cancer years ago. I barely saw a benefit for the cost and time back then.

I recently got my lash line tattooed to help with lash loss and I LOVE it. I don’t know if that’s an option? It’s not eyeliner but a tattoo along the lashes in black. I am a minimalist with makeup so this is perfect.

Bilateral MRI biopsies were negative. The spots turned out to be a fibroadenoma that’s been them since 2005. They think the clip marking it moved a bit over the years. The second spot was just a reactive lymph node. I meet with the surgeon next week and we are waiting for oncotyping of the tumor biopsy. Turns out my elevated alkaline phosphates is related to osteoporosis, so no problems going back on exemestane after surgery. I really feel I got lucky, but I know I will deal with more lymphedema than I am now. Currently I have grade 1 lypmphedema that rarely bothers me. The plan is lymph node dissection followed by AI

Creativevintage,

If you don't mind, how large is your "elevated alkaline phosphates"?