I wonder if anyone has any similar experiences or wisdom to impart?!
I had my first BC in 2007, It was 13mm grade 2 her2+, er+, pr+ with 4/10 positive lymph nodes. I had left mastectomy, axillary node clearance, chemo, rads, herceptin and have been treated with hormone therapy for the last 10 years. I was on Tamoxifen for over 7 years then had to switch due to thickened endometrium to Letrozole.
Last month found lump on other side which surgeon not initially concerned about until she looked at my mammogram results from May - I should have been recalled but wasnt - apparently a human error! Long and short of it is that a biopsy found I had DCIS grade 3. Staging scans were done to make sure that I did not also have metastases of my original 2007 cancer - thankfully they were clear!
I had my mastectomy and sentinel node biopsy last Thursday. Unfortunately, they have found micromets in one of my lymph nodes so they removed that and one other. Apparently, they no longer do routine node clearance and I’m not sure what I feel about that!
Obviously this now means I had invasive breast cancer as well as DCIS although the surgeon reckons they may never find it as she seems confident it will be small! I hope they do if only because then they can then test it to see if it is hormone positive, her2 positive etc. which will help with treatment! Otherwise the surgeon says that as 80% of DCIS is hornone positive they will treat it as this! As I was taking Letrozole at the time for my BC 10 years ago this was obviously not working if I have a new BC so that raises other questions!
Sorry for the long post but feel better putting it all down on paper!
Oooomph yeh, can understand your concerns ref of,as yet, an unfound invasive, extra to the recent DCIS, and doubts as to whether your hormone treatments may have in fact been working if it proves to also be her2 +. But maybe it’s not an her2 +, so a totally different type of primary. Are you any further forward with all this??
Also, with ref to full lymph node clearance - sometimes cancer cells can bypass the nodes anyway, so even a full clearance doesn’t give a solid guarentee that a cancer hasn’t already metastasised. Am just saying that generally as an aside from yours. Bummer innit.
Let us know what’s happening and how you’re doing.
In 2008 had lumpectomy, wle, chemotherapy, rads, herceptin and tamoxifen. This September I found another lump and have now had a mastectomy. The cancer is triple negative. Luckliy I will not be having radiotherapy but they are recommending 6 sessions of chemotherapy. I’m struggling to agree to this with all that goes with chemotherapy. Last time I was given the lot - even radiotherapy burns - but it didn’t stop cancer from coming back.
Anyone got any tips on how they decided to go through the treatment a second time? The BC nurse is of no use, I live on my own and don’t have grandchildren. . It was difficult enough 10 years ago!
I meditated after writing this and woke up this morning with my answer. My problem was not with the question of chemotherapy but my stress level. I’ll take the chemo as it is a new cancer but the BC nurse has been so rubbish in addressing my concerns since October I’ve been getting more and more angry with her and myself and couldn’t think straight.
So I’m off now to work out how to ditch the BC nurse and to not let people get to me!
Pollym - Yeh, I have to say, I too am flummoxed about the Letrozole. Thought the same as you, with ref to it treating or subdueing any possible rogue secondaries. Have you had any further info to that, a differing second opinion. I too would be questioning it, as you are yourself. How are you doing/feeling physically, after your op November? Has everything healed well with it?? Hope you’ve not had any complications there. Yeh, I had a mastectomy 2006, then a separate small primary was found in my remaining boob, not even a year later, so had another mastectomy (thank god we only have two!! ) 2007. Both with full node clearance, which was standard procedure then, prior to SNB. All nodes were clear, so no chemo required. Had I just opted for lumpectomies, I’d have been given rads as well, but wouldn’t have been left with much in the way of a breast by the time they’d allowed for margin clearance, them being smallish.
Am - Helloooo to you too. I’m also sooo sorry to hear of your diagnosis. Hope you also are recovering or are now recovered well from your op? You mentioned living on your own, with no grandkids!! Does that mean you don’t have any children either?? Hope you too have a good support network, do you?? Phew - I’m glad (I think?) you feel better about your chemo and have made the decision to take it. You haven’t mentioned what your concerns were that you felt your BCN wasn’t addressing?? Have you manage to solve your BCN issues now?? Have you started your chemo now, since your last post, Am ??
Yes, Pollym, as you so rightly said, you do at least have “advances” in treatment on both your sides.
Hope you’re both doing well, are you??
I’ve just said to Miss Green, on another of the recurrence threads “Recurrence for the 2nd time”, perhaps you ought to all get together on your threads/posts.