Hi Susanne,
I know what your saying about being a crackerjack surgeon and lousy on communication. I know sometimes they dont want to baffle you with things and sometimes if you dont ask they dont tell. I think my hormone levels are high as ive just had full hystrectomy and oopherectomy as a preventative as i have brca2 and ive still got to have tamoxifen for 5 years. My tumour was 2.5 and i had 2/28 lymphs involved. They did say they got it all but was close to the chest wall.
Take Care
Leslee x
Sure hope they have, Leslee - that’s the best news to hear, and also the low lymph figure. Also with the high receptor level, they now have a range of on-going treatments to kick the little b*gger when it’s down amd make sure it doesn’t rear its ugly head again.
I’m trying not to worry about having a low receptor level - I know there are fewer treatments at present to follow up chemo and rads, and that the risk of early return is higher, but apparently this is compensated by a sharper fall-off of risk after 3-4 years. Everything in this game seems to be swings and roundabouts - to go with the bl*dddy roller-coaster of emotions!
I cant belive how confusing this all is every thing ive ever done in life i wanted to know all the fact pregnancy,child birth ect and in the last two week being thrown into all this I think im going to have to face facts that ill never know all there is to know but to keep busy ill have a good go , just one thing I do know I had good margins in breast area but the lymps involved were very high in number but when or how would I know if they got it all out would that be after my bone and body scan or should I have been told all ready … I have asked them to tell me everything and 2 be far anything Ive wanted to know they have quite willingly told me …but what a stupid thing for me not to ask :have they got it all : maybe I didnt want to ask incase they told me something i didnt want to know …
Any way ladies the info on here is great thanks
will defo ask next time did they get it all … bl… hope so xxxx
Hi Leslee
Sorry to hear you dont have a BCN , I found that out of the five at our local hospital ive really jelled with two which im sure will help on this journey , pls ask at your local hospital Ive heard the money that their putting into this at mo is quite high and I would of hoped that would mean giving us ladies all the support and hlp we deserve …
Are you in the very early stages of this like me ?
LISA
hi Lisa,
Its all very confusing at the beginning but scarily you will be speaking the Breast Cancer language all too quickly.
Although your surgeon can say for sure it would seem that if they got good margins that they got all the cancer in your breast out. The lymph node involvement means that the cancer has travelled to the drainage system under your armpit (where they usually get caught and don’t move on out into the body)and the fact that you had a lot of lymph nodes involved will affect your treatment plan.
Hope this helps, x
Hi Lisa,
Im further down the line than you i was dx grade 3 in oct 07 had lumpectomy and node sampling had to go back to have rest of nodes out then chemo radio, found out i have brca2 so opted for bi-lateral masectomy and recon at same time that was dec 08 then end of feb 09 had full hystrectomy and oopherectomy done, fingers crossed thats the end of it. I just have to go for nipple recon and ports out in may and tamoxifen for 5 years hopefully thats it fingers crossed.
Keep the little b**gers a bay.
Take Care
Leslee x
Hi All
Just got my results today. Sooooooo good - Had DCIS and IDC grade 3 cancer. It was 24mm with the invasive size being 18mm. Nodes and margins all clear so no more surgery.
Hormone receptors showed ER- Positive and PR-positive. All good. My HER2 status not yet ready but told this was nothing to be concerned about.
I will be starting radio Therapy fairly soon for approx 4/5 weeks and next week I start Arimidex for 5 years to be reviewed in 2 years.
Have a sore boob and underarm but fortunately no swelling.
For anyone who is afraid they may have grade 3 cancer, its doesn’t always mean its all bad. It can be treated.
Good luck to anyone waiting. XXXX
Denise X
Denise been thinking about you and hoped you had posted tonight, that is really goos news so pleased for you. Now you know where you are going and what is happening. Did you have any lymph nodes removed
during yr lumpectomy? Hope mine is as positive next week! Debs xxx
Hi Debs - And everyone. I had 3 nodes removed. I cannot believe what a lucky escape I had. Grade 3 invasive cancer could have done so much damage. I was supposed to go to cuba on a wonderful 14 day 5 star all inclusive holiday when I was dx with cancer. We had to cancel within a week of going but guess what, The holiday means nothing. It took 30 minutes maximum to go for the mammogram & instead of swanning around in Cuba with a monster growing inside me, I was given the chance of a life time, just for the sake of a mammogram. How good is that?
If its possible to pass on good luck from one person to others - well here’s mine to all of you. XXXXX
That’s great news, Denise. Onwards and upwards from here…!
So pleased to hear your news Denise, thats great,get that holiday booked for later in the year,you deserve it ! Big hugs.
Hi Ladies…
Glad we do some times get good news well done …
Saw my onc for first time today oh my good what a day this has been the hardest for me yet…
It would be great if you could look at my post that I have just put on as really need some help and advise from people who know what Im going through
post is :PLEASE HELP ? when should I start treatment …
some of the ladies on this one have repled to me a few times which I am really greatful and as I feel we are now frinds would love their advise on this ( wount type it all out again as you can see cant type very well and looking at time of this post can not sleep either xxxx)
lisa - can’t find where you posted it???
hi all,
also been told grade 3, but no spread to nodes. can’t understand
that if the cancer is that agressive, how come no spread to the nodes
as well? they havn’t even mentioned the stage yet.
iv also been told to have chemo, rads & hormone treatment but havnt had pathology report yet. find all this really confusing. you just get your head round the diagnosis and then have all the medical terms to try and understand as well. im 42.
is the chem giving drip form or tablets. really dont know what do it, feels like your life is in their hands and you just have to go
with what they are recommending for your own personal diagnosis.
Hi Marble
Grade 3 is how your cancer looks under the microscope - grade 1 being the most like normal cells and slower growing upto grade 3, the most different from normal cells and faster growing.
Just because your tumour is a grade 3 and may grow faster than a grade 1 doesn’t mean it will have spread to lymph nodes - I had a grade 1 tumour with 1 lymph node affected.
Grade 3 is different to stage 3. If you have no spread to lymph nodes then you are most likely to be stage 1, although if your cancer is over a certain size (I think 2cm) then it is classified as a stage 2.
In this thread there are various explanations of the grades and stages which is worth reading when you get your pathology reports because there is a stage 2a and 2b and I can’t remember the difference.
Although stage is important, (particularly when you are looking at a stage 4 diagnosis), I wouldn’t worry too much about it - its more important that you have no lymph node spread.
You will probably be offered chemo due to the fact that your cancer is fast growing (ie grade 3) and rads because they presumably removed the lump leaving breast behind (ie they will zap surrounding tissue to be sure whereas this isn’t done generally if you have had a mastectomy as there is no remaining breast tissue to zap).
If you have questions the helpline can help and you should write down all your questions and ask your Oncologist them (no question should be too big or too small).
You will come to terms with the medical terms and be an expert in your cancer soon enough, sadly its a world of medical jargon none of us expected to be proficient in!
xx
Just to add to Ostrich’s excellent post-chemo is generally given as a drip,every three weeks for as many treatments as your onc recommends.There are many different chemos and your onc will tell you what you are having then you will be able to look on here for someone who has had the same to share experiences.
Good Luck,Valx
Thanks ladies will post on othere site as well just to say I decided to start on Friday the sooner the better … lisa x
thanks ostrich for your help. will come and find you when i get
the pathology report lol x