Hello everyone, this is my first post here and I am hoping I can find someone knowledgeable to help me understand my path report. I don’t have any medical training although my Mum is a doctor (although she worked mostly in child health in the community) and I have picked up odd bits and pieces - as you do during 43 years of living.
I was given my breast cancer diagnosis, following a needle biopsy of a lump that I found. As I am sure other people have found, I was somewhat dazed by the whole thing so did ask some questions but not everything. I rang the hospital after a few days to ask them to send me my pathology report - so I could understand more. I’ve been trying to read it this morning but don’t understand it fully and when I tried looking things up on the internet - scared myself silly. I need to understand though.
This is what it says, with my understand in brackets:
Clinical: 2.4cm smooth partially solid/cystic mass ?nature ??phyllodes (there were two parts to the lump, a fluid filled (cystic) part and the solid part - the biopsy was of the solid part. I assume the question marks indicate that there are unknowns - which is why the biopsy was required. When I went for the results, the surgeon examined me and found the lump had grown to 4cm).
This is a grade 3 invasive carcinoma (T3, N3, M3) with a solid and focally spindle celled morphology with an associated lymphocytic infiltrate. Some of the features suggest a possible medullary-like carcinoma, although these appearances are not convincing. Associated with invasive carcinoma is high nuclear grade solid cribriform DCIS. (B5b)
(So, this means it is cancer and grade 3 is the most active or fastest growing. The TNM numbers confused and scared me when I looked them up as I assumed they wouldn’t know if it has spread to lymph nodes (N3) or matasised (M3) until after the surgery - if at all. The spindle cell also scared my when I looked it up as the only mentions I could find were clinal studies with poor survival rates. I didn’t ask the consultant what my chances of survival are as I thought breast cancer survival is generally good at 85% for adult women in this country. I didn’t understand the rest.)
This case is ER 3+1=4, PR 0 quick score (so I think this means there is some oestrogen receptors but not progesterone. I have a contraceptive implant which is progesterone only but which I have been told I will have to get removed but I was on the pill for about 15 years in my 20s and 30s. I have been told when the rest of the treatment -surgery, chemo and radiotherapy- is over I will go onto Tamoxifen).
I would be very grateful if there is anyone who can help me understand.