Anyone have two cancers at once

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IllinoisLady
IllinoisLady Member Posts: 29,082
Anyone have two cancers at once

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  • IllinoisLady
    IllinoisLady Member Posts: 29,082
    edited December 2007

    EmbarassedHi, I hope someone will be able to help me.  Guess I haven't asked the right questions before but according to what my records seem to indicate, I have two kinds of cancer in the same breast.  The smallest ( I think it stands to reason probably ) was a papillary cancer and most of that ended up in the biopsy needle.  During lumpectomy, and under a large bruise ( no one totally realized that is what it was til' surgery ) was a second larger tumor which was an IDC.  Was wondering if anyone has had something like this etc.  It seems all ( clear margins, no lymph involvement ) was removed in the lumpectomy but I will still have chemo and radiation and an after pill for a few years.  I would appreciate any input that anyone might have that would help me to try and clarify all this.  Thanks so much.

    IllinoisLady

  • evyl78
    evyl78 Member Posts: 70
    edited December 2007

    Hi

    I am not sure of this helps but I was dx on 10/3 with IDC, Mucinous carsanoma, so yea you can have more then one cancer in the same breast and lump.  I hope this helps

  • crystal1
    crystal1 Member Posts: 41
    edited December 2007

    Illinoislady; I actually had three different cancers in one breast. Like you, I had never heard of such a thing, until it happened to me. From what I understand, this isnt that unusual..? It just means that we have to look carefully at all the options for all of our cancers! (Nothing like adding another whole degree of difficulty,is there?) Good luck! Crystal1 

  • IllinoisLady
    IllinoisLady Member Posts: 29,082
    edited December 2007

    Jerri & Crystal,

    Thanks so much for your info.  Jerri, my first tumor was the papillary as the original biopsy was taken at the site where it was laying.  During this the Dr. took 99% of it at that time.  The second tumor was actually resting underneath a huge boiled egg sized bruise that I had gotten months before.  The bruise ( although no one knew it was a bruise then---all including me thought that was THE tumor ) came up rather quickly, stayed the same size, was never sore, and never discolored in the fashion ( color changes over several days ) that most regular bruises do.  My surgeon was big on checking around after 'removal' and feels that must by luck and chance that she found the second tumor when the large 'bruised' tissue was gone.  So my dx is really for the second tumor---invasive ductal carcinoma and since papillary cancer ( what I was told ) is very low-key cancer and all is gone, most of my after treatment plan is to address the IDC.  There is a lot to do and I will be driving, or have someone drive me the 72 miles every three weeks to receive my chemo....much later, I will go there ( Marion, Illinois ) to receive my radiation too.  All of my treatment is courtesy of the V.A.  I had just found out a month or two before I found my ( egg ) lump that our medical insurance had run out from my husband's long time employer--long story--so it took several months to get through the what am I going to do period.  I'm looking forward --- if you can  look forward to all of what you need to do to get and keep a winning hand against this foe, to getting on with and through the next few months hoping to continue working my part time job.

    Thanks,  IllinoisLady

  • shrink
    shrink Member Posts: 936
    edited December 2007

    My onc told me that several different kinds of tumors in the same breast is not unusual.  Guess what?  I have DCIS, IDC, ILC and IBC.  I'm having a bi-lat mast on Monday to get rid of them all I hope.  I responded to chemo very well so that according to last week's MRI there was "no residual evidence of malignancy in the right breast." I'll be having radiation also in January.  This has not been a fun summer.

  • Isabella4
    Isabella4 Member Posts: 2,166
    edited December 2007

    Hi. I had 2 types of cancer IDC 1.7mm, and an unspecified amount (though less than the IDC, I was told) of DCIS, pretty much in the same area.

    Four years ago I was very green, and didn't start questioning things until the dust settled. No-one explained anything to me at all, I had to wait 4 long months to get a copy of my path report, no-one before had ever asked for this, my bc nurse told me!!.....always one !

    When I was a small girl I was permanently asking questions, my father said of me I always "wanted to know the far end of the f**t, and where the stink came from" !!!Laughing The whole family used to get mad at me, wish I'd had a computer then. 

    Isabella.

  • flash
    flash Member Posts: 1,685
    edited December 2007

    DCIS, multiple IDC, pagets.

    I figure it's a way to make life interesting......

  • deborye
    deborye Member Posts: 7,002
    edited September 2010
    Yes, it is posible to have 2 diff types of cancer in the same breast, I found that out when I had surgical biopsy with wide excision for IDC 6mm and when I went back for my follow-up, my breast surgeon wanted clearer margins because they found DCIS 7mm in the same area. Surprised  Sooo, had re-excision and got all that junk out.Laughing
  • joteach
    joteach Member Posts: 116
    edited January 2008

    I have IDC and DCIS in the same bresat and the same spot. Just had surgery (lumpectomy) December 13 and didn't know this until my path report was sent to me. I see the surgeon and med onc on January 9.

    Joan

  • Coltsneck
    Coltsneck Member Posts: 180
    edited January 2008

    Hi Flash,

    My sister had DCIS and Paget's.  You're the first person I've come across on this website that had Paget's.  When she was first diagnosed it was almost impossible for me to find any literature about it and no one on this site knew anything either.  My sister had a mastectomy in May 07 and everything was fine. She chose an elective mastectomy in the other breast just last week because of dense tissue and multiple false positives following Mammo and MRI.

    Hope you are doing well.  I understand Paget's is very curable. I'm sorry you had it but it is comforting to know that my sister isn't alone with this diagnosis. I believe the odds of having Paget's is about 1 to 4% of all breast cancers.

    Maureen

  • flash
    flash Member Posts: 1,685
    edited January 2008

    Actually, pagets alone is very treatable. Pagets with underlying is completely different picture for statistics. New research shows pagets with underlying cancer is a transformation of the underlying cancer DNA to pagets. It has a very high recurrence and/or mets rate when there is an underlying cancer with it.

  • hollyann
    hollyann Member Posts: 2,992
    edited January 2008

    I had IDC and DCIS in the same breast (left 6 o'clock position)   My IDC was 1cm and grade 1.  My DCIS was  smaller but intermediate grade.  All was removed with the bilat mast I had.  I found out abput hte DCIS AFTER reading my path report as neither my oncologist nor my breast surgeon mentioned DCIS only the IDC.     Best of luck to you.

  • Jenniferz
    Jenniferz Member Posts: 541
    edited January 2008

    I had idc and dcis==very early breast cancers according to onc and surgeon.  I had a mastectomy-left breast. There was no mention of the dcis. Like Lucy, I found it in my path. report.

    Jennifer

  • gsg
    gsg Member Posts: 3,386
    edited January 2008
    upon reading my final path report, i, too, learned i had DCIS within the same area as the IDC.  it's never been discussed..and i keep forgetting to ask about it.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited January 2008

    Maureen--a good friend of mine had Paget's and is now a 21 year survivor (as is my own mother from ILC).   She recently had a scare on the other breast, but everything turned out benign on the biopsy.

  • zap
    zap Member Posts: 2,017
    edited January 2008

    Hi Flash,

    Can you tell us where you found this research onthe poorer prognosis/recurrence rates and paget's.  I am searching and not finding anything new on it. 

    Thanks,

    Susan 

  • sheshe48
    sheshe48 Member Posts: 338
    edited January 2008

    Hi,

    I also had 2 cancers in my right breast. DCIS, and IDC. I beleive it is not uncommon to have more than one cancer at the same time. Take care you will be ok

  • zap
    zap Member Posts: 2,017
    edited January 2008

    Hi:  The whole poorer prognosis for Pagets/IDC has me crazy as guess what.....

    I have performed so many searches and I am just not finding anything regarding these "newer" findings.  Would anyone know what flash is referring to?  I want to call my onc but I do want to have some information in place before I do that.  I have tried everything and I keep reading that the prognosis is based on the IDC dx and not the IDC and the Paget's.  Any thoughts?

    Susan 

  • Hattie
    Hattie Member Posts: 414
    edited January 2008

    DCIS and IDC are on the same spectrum. I had those, also LCIS and ILC, and am doing well at this point (two years out and in it for the long haul).



    My cancer soup freaked out some practitioners, but not the experts I trust.



    Hope you get the info and answers you need.



    Take care,

    --Hattie

  • Dean15
    Dean15 Member Posts: 11
    edited January 2008

    Hi,

    Mine was a 3.5 cm breast carcinoma tumor exhibiting both dcis and lobular. invasive with high nuclear grade 3. all in left breast.

  • flash
    flash Member Posts: 1,685
    edited January 2008

    went into a doctors website for the report on paget's with idc/dcis. i'll try to find it again. it's actually 2 reports one is on the paget source debate. the new dna analysis indicates it is a transformation of the idc or dcis to a new cell form "pagets." It indicated that the idc was considered to be particularly agressive or more advanced when that has happened.  the second was on the actual success rate of idc when the pagets was present. will let you know when i find them again, I had a doc friend who had found them for me on a limited access website.

  • commander
    commander Member Posts: 10
    edited February 2016

    Diagnosed last month with ILC (2 cm), IDC (.8 cm.), multiple lobular microinvasions, and LCIS, all in the left breast. I'm tentatively scheduled for bilateral mast on 2/24. I'm going to Dana Farber in Boston on Friday for a case review and second opinion, and I'll get oncotype DX results next week. I'm looking forward to some certainty with my treatment plan--it's been a long month!

  • wyohalter
    wyohalter Member Posts: 2
    edited July 2018

    I was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma 7 years ago.  Had a lumpectomy with clean margins and then radiation.   Last fall, it came back in the same tumor bed.  I decided I was done and had a double mastectomy.  They found no sign of the ductal carcinoma they went in for, but thought it had been removed through the biopsies as it was only 3mm.  However, they found papillary breast cancer in the other breast which hadn't shown up on a mammogram at the same time b/c it had not broken out of the duct it was in to become invasive.  I, too, wonder how rare this is and how it affects one's outcomes with cancer.  Since both were ER+ and HER- they just had me do the mastectomy and now I'm on Letrozole.  If anyone else out there knows of a place I can get information on these two types of breast cancer at the same time, let me know.  I'm guessing it isn't part of a lot of studies as it is probably fairly rare.    

    Left breast: Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, 3mm HR+ PR+ HER-   Right Breast:  Papillary Carcinoma Insitu, 15mm, HR+ PR+ HER-   

  • wyohalter
    wyohalter Member Posts: 2
    edited July 2018

    You have the same two breast cancers I was just diagnosed with and I'm wondering how you are doing since you are so far out from them.   

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