pathology report questions

JLGall103
JLGall103 Member Posts: 7
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
hi, i have the following questions
1. ER pos. 90%
2. PR pos. 12% are those o.k. numbers to have?
3. HER 2 NEU Positive---is that o.k. to have?
4. Nuclear grade II---is that o.k. to have?
5. Cribriform type with focal luminal necrosis? is this bad, or o.k. to have?
my diagnosis was non-invasive ductal carcinoma DCIS. .6cm. I am currently doing radiation, following my lumpectomy then a "clean up 2nd lumpectomy to clear margin. i hate to bother the radiation oncologist with these minor questions. if someone could help me and answer these, i'd appreciate it. thank you and god bless. LouiseKatherine

Comments

  • kakane
    kakane Member Posts: 1
    #2
    Hi! It is such a good thing to learn about the pathology. We all have the same thing, but the pathology makes it unique to us. So do not think these are minor questions. The answers and understanding them are very important to the process of decisions about treatment and so on.

    As for your particular pathology, I can recommend the breastcancer.org site which has a very good section on understanding your pathology report. ER/PR+ is good because you can be a candidate for horomonal therapy like tamoxifen or the aromatase inhibitors. HER2/neu+ also means you may be a candidate for herceptin.

    Good luck!
  • BJayeCo
    BJayeCo Member Posts: 13
    #3
    hi, I am a fairly new b/c patient also;my first piece of advise if this - it shd not be and is not a bother to ask your oncologist any questions regarding your pathology report. Mine sat down and went over the path rpt line by line and explained what each value meant;this is what you need to be an informed patient;not to be mean, but if you do not do it, no one will do it for you. Second - these diagonostic numbers tell you what receptors your type of cancer cells are sensitive to; this can help when it comes to what medicines are used to fight the cancer and keep it from recurring. Third - this scared me more than anything else so far; I have stage 2A invasive breast cancer;the values assigned give both hope and fear, good and bad;everyone is different. Go back to your doctor, if the oncologist won't/can't explain, take report to surgeon, primary care Dr or gynocologist;better yet, get more than one opinion. I have talked in depth w/all my doctors regarding cancer and treatment options, as overwhelming as it is, the more info you have the better your decisions will be. I am seeking a second opinion from another oncologist and from my brother-in-law who is an MD and the oncologist that he works with. I wish you luck and the strength to help yourself heal and stay healthy. I hope this was some help, even though I could not/would not attempt to give you medical advise. BJ
  • DeeNY711
    DeeNY711 Member Posts: 476 Member
    #4
    Focus on the word non-invasive. Your questions are not minor, and the physicians are there to help you navigate treatment. Part of that is explaining things to the point that you can live with it. Ask.
    Love,
    Denise
  • JLGall103
    JLGall103 Member Posts: 7
    #5
    DeeNY711 said:

    Focus on the word non-invasive. Your questions are not minor, and the physicians are there to help you navigate treatment. Part of that is explaining things to the point that you can live with it. Ask.
    Love,
    Denise

    hi, thank you for replying. my doctors are all great and willing to take the time to talk with me. i just thought some of you girls out there could answer my questions. i see my doctor on tuesday, i definitely will ask her to explain the 'numbers' and 'terms' with me. i thank the lord for everything. god bless. louise katherine
  • JLGall103
    JLGall103 Member Posts: 7
    #6
    kakane said:

    Hi! It is such a good thing to learn about the pathology. We all have the same thing, but the pathology makes it unique to us. So do not think these are minor questions. The answers and understanding them are very important to the process of decisions about treatment and so on.

    As for your particular pathology, I can recommend the breastcancer.org site which has a very good section on understanding your pathology report. ER/PR+ is good because you can be a candidate for horomonal therapy like tamoxifen or the aromatase inhibitors. HER2/neu+ also means you may be a candidate for herceptin.

    Good luck!

    thank you so much for replying. i will see my doctor on tuesday. i will ask her all my questions, i just thought that some of the girls out there, could answer them. your info is appreciated. i thank the lord, i know i'm in good shape, it could have been worse. god bless everyone out there. hugs, louise katherine
  • jhope
    jhope Member Posts: 58
    #7
    Louise, I agree with everyone that you talk to your doctor and ask all these questions. I do know that it might ease your mind to know that non-invasive (or ductal) means it has not gotton out and into your system! Yea, you have (according to my oncologist) a 99% survival rate!! That is awesome keep focusing on that. ER positive is also a good thing as you can take (if needed) tamoxofin or antoher hormone to help stop you cancer if needed. I had to have 2nd lumpectomy also to clean up margin (thats the necrosis and get all cancer), mine was invasive, out of my ducts, into lymphnodes, and ER negative. LOL, I am going to make it, AND SO ARE YOU! God bless you and stay fighting and it is wonderful for you to keep taking the initiative to be informed about your cancer. jhope

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