Hi, I wondered if anybody could help me or give me some reassurance. I am so concerned about my mom who has been diagnosed yesterday with Primary Breast Cancer. I really do feel heart broken for my mom to have to be going through this.
They told her that the tumor is small (18mm) however said it was stage 3. They are waiting on HER2 test results but she definitely has to have chemotherapy and surgery. Could anybody help explain to me about the stages as I’ve just done the worlds worst and googled it and I’m now having an extreme panic attack? From what they have said we think it hasn’t spread to lymph nodes but they want to take some away during surgery to test further. We just need to wait for HER2 results (so confusing) before we know if chemo is first or surgery.
Anybody with similar experiences that can share their story I would be so happy.
Hi Snowy,
First of all, welcome here anyway, although of course, you’d rather not be here.
Just to clarify, the diagnosis, ‘stage’ & ‘grade’ are different things. ‘Stage’ is clarified after the nodes have been removed after surgery & refers to whether the bc has spread out of the breast to the nodes or not.
If they have told you it may not have spread to the nodes, then it may not be stage 3. It could be, that the initial biopsy showed the tumour was ‘grade’ 3. Tumours are graded 1-3, with 3 being the most aggressive, which is probably why they are talking about chemo.
When I was first diagnosed, I confused stage & grade, in my case, my bc was stage 1, contained within the breast & small @ 7mms, with no node involvement & the tumour was grade 2, ie ‘intermediate.’
It is such a shock getting a diagnosis & it is hard ro take in initially, so do ask any questions you & your mom need to.
Do look at the main site here, which explains about diagnosis & ‘stage’ & ‘grade.’
Do treat google with care & keep to reputable sites like this one. Until we know what we’re dealing with, general googling usually only feeds anxiety for no good reason.
Loads of us have been there & come out the other side & thankfully, your mom will now get the treatment to get it dealt with.
ann x
Hi, thank you so much for you reply. I think what I have confused is the stage and grade. He said to my mom that it was a grade 3 I’m sorry - not a stage 3.
When I heard the word aggressive it completely freaks me out and makes me go int shear panic, although he did say that this is “treatable”. I’m sure there are many people diagnosed as grade 3 but when I seem to look it tends to be mostly grade 2. Don’t know why I am getting caught up on this grade thing, I suppose because I heard consultant saying aggressive it immediately makes you fear the worst!
Thanks for sharing your info. I will have a look on the reputable sites for some more info and support
Hi Snowy,
Yes, it is certainly treatable, there are many here with grade 3. Mine was initially grade 1, then was finalised at 2, but in my case it made no difference to the treatment plan.
It is the use of terminology which can sound scary, but that is how it is described & the normal outcome is, that we do get through it.
It sounds like in your mom’s case, it’s been caught early at 18mms, so there’s every reason to be positive about it all. Please don’t get to hung about the terminology, we all get to grips with it quite quickly & it always feels a lot better when the treatment plan is in place.
ann x
Hi Snowey, I’m sorry you and your family are having to go through this but I see Ann has given you some great advice and it will all become clearer honestly. Once you fully understand what all the different types, stages, and grades mean it will become a little less scary.
I see you have posted in our ask the nurses section, they won’t be around over the weekend so I will try and explain about the HER2 test results your mum is waiting on.
There are so many different types of Breast cancer, some are fed by oestrogen and Progesterone, some by the HER2 protein and some are negative in all three. It’s important they find out which type your mums is so they can give her the correct treatment.
HER2 positive BC tends to be more aggressive and your mum would be given Herceptin as well as Chemo as this a targeted treatment to block the growth of the HER2 protein. It works very well and we have many ladies here with this type of breast cancer who you can talk if your mum is to have this treatment.
Whatever the outcome of your mums tests they will put in place the best plan of action for her going forward and she will be very well looked after. It’s all this uncertainty which is the hardest but it’s important they know exactly what is going on so they can treat it correctly, it’s not a one size fits all kind of cancer and can vary enormously, for example they wouldn’t give Herceptin to someone with HER2 negative cancer as it would be of no help to them at all.
I hope this makes some some sort of sence and please feel free to ask anything else Xx Jo
I was initially diagnosed grade 2 after biopsy, which was later upgraded to grade 3 after the lump was removed an analyzed. Sometimes tumors are downgraded,
It’s normal to do a ‘sentinal node biopsy’ which is to check the 3 or 4 lymph nodes the breast drains into first. I got an injection into the breast (didn’t hurt!) and also some blue dye, both of which help to detect the right lymph nodes. These get removed at the same time as the operation on the breast. If they are negative, then there’s no worry over the other lymph nodes. If there is only one positive, then they might offer you a trial. If there are more than one positive, they usually go for a full clearance, which means a further operation to remove all the lymph nodes in the armpit.
Can I reccomend a book ‘The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer’ by Liz O’Riordan and Trish Greenhalgh. They are both doctors who have had breast cancer. It’s easy to read, and goes through just about everything you could want to know
It’s so funny you mention that book, I actually have it being delivered this afternoon from amazon. I ordered it late last night. I will have a read later thank you.
Thanks for all of your information about the lymph nodes. It’s a massive help to be told all of this as it’s all a blur at the moment x