small tumer, large problem

Judeedee

I am looking for someone else who has had experience with a small, less than 1 cm tumer that has spread to distant sites. How it was found and how it is being treated. I just found out how invasive my cancer was in feb,
It was originally thought that I was a candidate for a lumpectomy and now I found out I am already at stage 4.

michelle2098

I had no lump at all just a little bit of thickening. I had a mammogram and they found microcalcifications all over my right breast. I thought I was going to have a mastectomy with sentinel node biopsy followed by radiation. After the surgery they found out that the cancer was in 13 out of 21 lymph nodes and that I was at a stage 3. Thank God all of my tests have come back normal, but I start chemo on Thursday followed by radiation and tamoxifen. I'm just glad I went to the doctor when I did because I can't even imagine what would have happened if I didn't. I hope things work out well for you.

Idalia

Dear Judeedee, welcome to the stage 4 sisterhood! We are the extreme team of bc survivors and there are several on this board. I had a couple of small tumors, but my lymph nodes were clear, so I was diagnosed as stage II in Feb. 2003. Had a lumpectomy, chemo, radiation and went on Tamoxifen. April 2004, I got a clean bill of health from oncologist - blood work and mammo were normal, but I developed a stiff back. It got worse despite months of treatment by a chiropractor and an orthopedist. July 2004, found out the cancer had spread throughout my spine, ribs and pelvis, with nodules in my lungs and a tumor on my thyroid. No one told me I had an aggressive form of breast cancer until a year after my operation. What treatment do the doctors suggest? I was estrogen positive, so I am on hormone treatment to starve the cancer and aredia to strenghen my bones. It seems to be working, so don't give up hope.

martyzl

Idalia said:

Dear Judeedee, welcome to the stage 4 sisterhood! We are the extreme team of bc survivors and there are several on this board. I had a couple of small tumors, but my lymph nodes were clear, so I was diagnosed as stage II in Feb. 2003. Had a lumpectomy, chemo, radiation and went on Tamoxifen. April 2004, I got a clean bill of health from oncologist - blood work and mammo were normal, but I developed a stiff back. It got worse despite months of treatment by a chiropractor and an orthopedist. July 2004, found out the cancer had spread throughout my spine, ribs and pelvis, with nodules in my lungs and a tumor on my thyroid. No one told me I had an aggressive form of breast cancer until a year after my operation. What treatment do the doctors suggest? I was estrogen positive, so I am on hormone treatment to starve the cancer and aredia to strenghen my bones. It seems to be working, so don't give up hope.

An aside to Idalia,
I am curious about your back stiffness... I know we are all different and react differently but did you have pain at any certain time of day?
I need to get a bone scan for peace of mind but am waiting 'til our baby is starting other foods as I haven't had luck with pumping one breast and feeding babe off same..
My pain is worse when I lay down, seems to be muscular. Ibuprofen, 200mg, helps me go to sleep on the bad nights. Also pain in my Tram...
Trying not to panic and just curious, I guess, how you felt...
Be well, stay well, stay strong!

Judeedee, know that there are many women in stage 4 who are strong, vibrant and doing beautifully... it's a number, don't let numbers get to you.
Thrive!
May you find comfort among these amazing women, as I have over the past 3 years!
*hugs*
~marty

DeeNY711

martyzl said:

An aside to Idalia,
I am curious about your back stiffness... I know we are all different and react differently but did you have pain at any certain time of day?
I need to get a bone scan for peace of mind but am waiting 'til our baby is starting other foods as I haven't had luck with pumping one breast and feeding babe off same..
My pain is worse when I lay down, seems to be muscular. Ibuprofen, 200mg, helps me go to sleep on the bad nights. Also pain in my Tram...
Trying not to panic and just curious, I guess, how you felt...
Be well, stay well, stay strong!

Judeedee, know that there are many women in stage 4 who are strong, vibrant and doing beautifully... it's a number, don't let numbers get to you.
Thrive!
May you find comfort among these amazing women, as I have over the past 3 years!
*hugs*
~marty

It is always a good idea to have the source of discomfort checked out. Just to let you know, though, I had aching pain in hip joints only in bed at night while on Arimidex, and have heard others mention same sort of bone pain while on Tamoxifen. When I returned to work full-time, I tried several categories of analgesics simply trying to get enough sleep with little success. In December, the Arimidex was stopped. The pain vanished. However, I would happily remain on either medication for the peace of mind in knowing that I was doing everything possible to prevent recurrence, especially if I had a small child.

The reason the Arimidex was stopped had to do with catestrophic treatment failure. Despite radical surgery, chemo, radiation, and Arimidex, the cancer had spread to the bone and eaten a spherical hole through 70% of the bone in my right upper arm near the joint. Of course, my right upper arm had absolutely no pain. There are hot spots on the bone scan in seven other areas that do not show up on regular xray, and instead of saying lumbar spine shows arthritic degeneration, what the CAT scan report said was that there is no identifiable evidence of metastasis to the lumbar spine.

After starting Zometa and resuming chemotherapy, the aching in the spine went away. I was on Actonel prior, a cousin of Fosamax to prevent or treat osteoporosis. Your gynecologist may want to do a bone density test to evaluate your need for prevention or treatment of that aching. The bone density test is non-invasive and does not require contrast dye or radioactive material, so you may want to ask the gynecologist whether you can get an appointment for that now. I think the bone density test takes less than an hour.

Hope this helps.

Denise