Well its cancer. I have a cyst with a cancer inside. The initial tests did not find cancer outside the cyst or in my lymph nodes, so at this stage they will just take the cyst out. Whilst i am under they will take more biopsies to see if it has gone anywhere else after all and may take some nodes out. If it has gone to lots of nodes then I need more treatment after the op. Well thats what i think they said
It is all early days. It is a real possibility that it is all nicely contained in the cyst. It is small and near the surface, so they don’t have to go digging around too much.But of course they cannot be sure till they open me up
Operation on 21st June. They seem quite relaxed about how long away that is. Is that a good sign or are they just busy?
Me and husband are fine. Not scared or anything. We think it could have been much worse. Or were they playing it down??
I have to have die injected in earlier in the day of the op–is that normal, and is it painful??
Hi I am really sorry you had to join us here, but as you know already you will get plenty of support.
I had the dye put in the day before and it doesnt hurt at all. Are you having a wire put in as well around the lump?
Regarding are they playing it down, no they won’t be. Hospitals have to be as upfront and honest as they can be. The days of holding back important imformation is well and truly over so rest assured they will be telling you everything they know at the moment. My new team at the Marsden are brilliant and there attitude of being certain they can cure me is whats keeping me going. Before I had my second opinion there, I was under my local hospital, and they were actually gloom and doom even though the situation wasn’t as bad as they were acting. So if anything, sometimes they might make you think things are worse to cover themselves, but if they think you are going to be ok, they will be honest and tell you.
Regarding the operation time, NICE guidelines, say that all cancers must be removed in 28 days.
he asked the breast care nurse if they were within time and she told me they had a 6 week target.
No wire, its a palpable lump near surface.
I got the doctor to write down the name of my lump (Intracystic papillary carcinoma) I know people say dont google, but of course I did. Aparantly it is normally non invasive, can be re-occuring but the 10 year survival rate is !00%.
I just checked with hubby, and the guy did mention radio therapy as a worse case scenario, but he made no mention of chemo.
has anyone else had this??
I think the guidelines are four weeks, but I guess they have there own targets in each individual hospital. I had mine out in ten days, but at the time, they were worried because the area was 4 and half cms (DCIS) and high grade which meant it could start to turn very quickly, and it had as I had two invasive tumours, and last mammogram I had no DCIS a year ago, which is quite scary as if I had not been having family history mamograms It would not have been spotted until it was quite a large tumour.
I was diagnosed at 46 so would not have had a mamogram in time to spot if it I had been under the national programme for screening. My nodes were clear so I didn’t need chemo, so the same as you in that aspect. My mums tumour was 7 cms (lobular) and was shrunk with letrazole and she had clear nodes so no chemo either. Her HRT had been feeding her tumour!! It shrunk over 6cms in four months! You are much more likely to have chemo if you are pre menopause as cancer grows much quicker in a younger women as do all cells and I think again the oestrogen is much less in a lady who has been through the menopause.
Bummer that your here OAL, but I’m sure you’ll get loads of support.
I ‘just’ had rads no chemo, it depends on the stage / grade I think, on whether chemo or not, I was expecting to have chemo due to my age, but my onc didn’t want me to go through it. I think the days are gone when all cancers are treated aggressively with chemo.
Hope someone comes along shortly with a similar dx to you, good luck with your treatment, whatever you may need x
Hi I hope this is some help just found this article on here.
radiology.casereports.net/index.php/rcr/article/viewArticle/279/615
This explains it quite a bit.
If its non invasive, thats good news. It’s only invasive cancer that has the ability to spread, so when you get moments of doubt, try and hold on to that thought.
SGL xx
Hi
Just wanted to let you know that I was diagnosed with non-invasive intracystic papillary carcinoma in Nov 2009. I had a lumpectomy in the December (lump was 18mm diameter) and I didn’t need any lymph nodes removing.
I was advised to have radiotherapy because this form of bc is usually seen in much older women (70s, 80s), and as I was “still a young woman” (I was 54!!),I might be at a greater risk of recurrence. I had 15 days of rads from mid Feb to early Mar 2010. Following this I was offered tamoxifen but said I didn’t want to take this as I have a history of thrombosis, which is a contraindication for tamoxifen. My oncologist was OK about this as the survival rate is very good for this form of bc and I had had some rads.
So now I’m 18 months down the line and all is well so far. The annual scans are a mixed blessing; both a comfort factor but also an anxious time waiting for the results. For my first scan I just had the affected breast tested, which was all clear. This year the other breast will be scanned, which I think I’ll be more nervous about.
I took time off work for the surgery and when I had the rads, but on reflection went back too soon after the rads, as I had shingles a couple of months after I got back to work. I do feel I’m more or less back on track now (tiredness and lack of energy being the main problem last year), and the only thing that I do have a problem with is some cramping in my ribcage when I turn in certain ways. I have discussed this with my oncologist and he’s said it’s likely to be due to the radiotherapy treatment.
Hope all goes well with the surgery and if you want to know anything else, I’ll be happy to help!
Becky xxx
Hi
I was diagnosed with invasive ductal cancer on 10th may. My consultant told be that I had to be treated within 31days from diagnosis as that was the national target.I’m going to have a lumpectomy and Sentinal node biopsy tomorrow, which I think is pretty quick, thank goodness. They put some dye through the nodes to see if any are affectd and take one or two to test. It is a much nicer procudure then years ago when they use to take all the nodes straight away, which is called an auxillary node clearence. I guess that is something to be grateful for!! wishing you lots of luck with whatever your journey may be
Jane
Hi Oldandlumpy You have the same diagnosis as myself. It seems it’s a rarer type of cancer, mostly found in older women. I am 62. I had my lumpectomy and SNB on the 19th April and was told I may need radiotherapy. However, I didn’t need it in the end as I had clear margins and no node involvement.I am on tamoxifen as the lump was oestrogen receptive? I think that’s how it was described anyway! The dye injection is no more than a pinprick although my nipple is still fairly greenish blue, but fading! I am sure you will be fine.
Hi OAL
Sorry to say Welcome, but welcome anyway. I suggest that as well as getting feedback from the ladies on here, give the helpline a ring. They are a very knowledgeable bunch and will be able to answer some of your questions that us others with the common sort (IDC) can’t do. As you are discovering, there are lots of different types of BC, and they do have their own different good points and bad points.
Depending on your hospital, they might even wait until you’re under the anaesthetic before injecting the blue dye, but I also had a radioactive injection beforehand to make sure they knew which was the sentinel node. The injection was a little bit uncomfortable but certainly no worse than a fine needle aspiration, which is less painful than a wasp sting. Well it was fine for me, anyhow.
Good luck. Remember the notebook, write down all your questions (you’ll find you come up with loads, now you know a bit more about what you’re dealing with!) so you don’t forget to ask your specialist.