11/13 biopsy showed microinvasive dcis, less than 1mm. Favor micropapillary pattern, intermediate nuclear grade, comesonecrosis. ER/PR neg, HER2 positive. K1-67: 5%. First appointment with oncologist was a couple days later. He said it was tiny and slow growing. MRI was ordered. I was referred to one surgeon but wanted to go to a different one. The faxes of my reports kept getting “lost”, unknown to me and nearly a month later I was finally called for an appointment. It’s on Jan 21.
MRI showed it to be 5.7cm. Extensive multi-segmental That’s a far cry from the “tiny” I was told in November.
I did some research regarding the description of things in my pathology report and it seems to me terms like micropapillary, intermediate nuclear grade, comedonecrosis, and HER2 positive and not good things. The oncologist gave me the impression it’s kinda no big deal, it’s tiny, not invasive, slow growing, just remove the cancer and have a little radiation and I am good to go.
Anyone have similar descriptions on their pathology? And what were they told it meant?
Hello and welcome, when it comes to testing and results, you are at one of the worse steps in the process. You’ve had a result, and waiting for that is bad enough. But it sounds like you need further explanation to make it more clear and understandable….which means you are still at the awful point of not knowing the plan of action.
I’m not medically trained and every case is individual. I had a 17mm IDC tumor with 35mm high grade DCIS (not detected prior surgery). From my experience and depending who you talk to, DCIS is stage 0. My surgeon referred to the DCIS as non-invasive cancer. Whereas the breast nurses tended to say it’s a pre-cancer. I’ve also noticed this “mix” of words on websites which can be very confusing.
DCIS has potential to become invasive cancer, hence when detected it’s best to get it removed and treated. In your case it is showing signs of micro invasion. It my understanding that is an indicator that it is in the process of changing from non-invasive to invasive, so I would presume it’s still at an early stage but you don’t want to leave it to develop. But this should be checked with a medical professional.
I’ve always assumed breast cancer is a “one size fits all” type scenario, but I have since learned there are lots of sub types which need individual treatments. On a positive note, there are lots of successful treatments.
If you haven’t already, ask for another appointment, they should be discussing all this with you and allowing you time to ask questions. It’s a rollercoaster ride, with so many highs and lows.
Hi, I am similarly newly diagnosed with microinvasive DCIS, ER/PR+, HER 2+ and K1-67 positive. It’s tiny, but high nuclear grade. The breast surgeon I saw said it’s considered stage 1 cancer and that the high nuclear grade, HER 2+ and positive basal markers mean that it can grow relatively quickly. For me, I will have surgery to remove the tumor, sentinel node biopsy, radiation, and hormone therapy. If it has spread to the lymph nodes I will have chemo.
My cancer was diagnosed on 11/26 and I don’t have surgery scheduled until 2/18 and no one seems bothered, so maybe it is no big deal? Fingers crossed that your treatment is relatively easy.
Hi, please don’t think of it as “not important” all cancers are important. Although DCIS is considered non-invasive or contained (aka In Situ), it still needs to be removed or treated.
My invasive tumor was surrounded by DCIS, so there was a high chance the tumor developed from it. So it’s definitely important and if you have caught it early it will minimise the risks further down the line.