I'm 46 and now I have IDC Breast Cancer

Bree

Hi everyone....
I hear you are a lot of help and support. Right now I can use that. I have recently been diagnosed with IDC. Still having tests ran but at this point they are saying it is Stage 1. I have two growths. I am torn... Lumpectomy or Mastectomy? What are your thoughts on it? I do realize that ultimately it is my decision. But I just need some help from people who are going through it or have survived it.

Any info is much appreciated. I have an appointment with my surgeon on Monday afternoon and she wants me into surgery this coming week.

Hope you can help me.

Thank you,
Bree

Cat64

Hi Bree
And welcome to the place we'd never thought we'd be. But,you have heard right! This place does offer alot of love,support,information,advice,humor,and whatever you may need to help you get through your journey. When you first get the diagnosis it hits you pretty hard. I was diagnosed with IDC in August. Since,I have had numerous tests,a port installed,Chemo(to try to shrink the tumor)and a Lumpectomy w/2 lymph nodes removed a week ago. Mine started at 3 cm. and I'm not sure yet what it shrunk down to,but it did odviously shrink. My hope was to hold onto my breast at this point in my life.(45)My surgeon did a beautiful job. You barely can tell I even had surgery. I consider myself one of the lucky ones.
Stage 1 is good. You caught it early. You should gather all the info you can on your situation and make the decision that you feel is best for you. I can't help but wonder,why does the surgeon want you in surgery so quickly?
Let us know how your appt. goes Monday and remember, someone is always here to help you in any way that they can. You are NOT alone!
Prayers & Hugz,
Cathy

lanie940

I was diagnosed with Stage 1
I was diagnosed with Stage 1 IDC this past July. On July 24th, on the 30th I had my lumpectomy, I will finish up with my RADS this week 4 more to go. My Oncotype DX was 21, I opted to forgo CHEMO. It would only give me an improved chance of 2-3 %, so I will just start arimidex sometime soon. My sentinal node was clear also. Mine was caught early also. BUT, now I found out I have Celiac disease, so that is a challange, but I'm dealing with it ok. I had a hernia surgery in Oct, the lumpectomy was a piece of cake compard to the hernia! I really like all my Dr.s that is what is important. You should be fine, we will be praying for you.

Bree

Cat64 said:

Hi Bree
And welcome to the place we'd never thought we'd be. But,you have heard right! This place does offer alot of love,support,information,advice,humor,and whatever you may need to help you get through your journey. When you first get the diagnosis it hits you pretty hard. I was diagnosed with IDC in August. Since,I have had numerous tests,a port installed,Chemo(to try to shrink the tumor)and a Lumpectomy w/2 lymph nodes removed a week ago. Mine started at 3 cm. and I'm not sure yet what it shrunk down to,but it did odviously shrink. My hope was to hold onto my breast at this point in my life.(45)My surgeon did a beautiful job. You barely can tell I even had surgery. I consider myself one of the lucky ones.
Stage 1 is good. You caught it early. You should gather all the info you can on your situation and make the decision that you feel is best for you. I can't help but wonder,why does the surgeon want you in surgery so quickly?
Let us know how your appt. goes Monday and remember, someone is always here to help you in any way that they can. You are NOT alone!
Prayers & Hugz,
Cathy

Hello
Cathy....
Yes it would appear I have caught mine extremely early. I have two both close to each other. One is only 3mm and the other is 2cm. My Surgeon tells me anything over 4mm requires radiation. She is wanting me to do the lumpectomy and the radiation. I am just not sure this is the right decision for me. I have had 3 mammograms, two sonograms, a biopsy, a CAT scan on both my chest and stomach, a Breast MRI and a bone scan. Monday I will find out the results on the cat scans and the bone scans. I am not sure why she is trying to rush me into surgery.
It is nice to know I am not alone.....

Cat64

Bree said:

Hello
Cathy....
Yes it would appear I have caught mine extremely early. I have two both close to each other. One is only 3mm and the other is 2cm. My Surgeon tells me anything over 4mm requires radiation. She is wanting me to do the lumpectomy and the radiation. I am just not sure this is the right decision for me. I have had 3 mammograms, two sonograms, a biopsy, a CAT scan on both my chest and stomach, a Breast MRI and a bone scan. Monday I will find out the results on the cat scans and the bone scans. I am not sure why she is trying to rush me into surgery.
It is nice to know I am not alone.....

Bree
What a pretty name. Do they know that both are tumors? I had a cyst close to mine and I still have 5 in the other with very dense breasts. What did they say about Estrogen/Progesterone/Her2? Positive or negative? I am Her2 positive so I still have to do Radiation & Herceptin which could be every 3 weeks for almost a year. What do YOU feel you want to do? The doctors will of course give you their opinions, I'm NOT saying not to trust your doctors, but I feel it is ultimately OUR decision, as it is OUR bodies we are talking about here as far as what treatment course WE want to take. When I first saw my surgeon, he was also ready to do the surgery. I was still in shock and felt everything was going way too fast. I had already researched my diagnosis and options,so I decided to try Chemo first. He then referred me to an Oncologist. I only did 2 treatments. A little rough, but well worth the outcome as I am rather "small". I'm satisfied with my choice. I will pray for you that you get clean results on your other tests and please let us know what the outcome is. No, you are not alone-the women here have been there, done that, or are doing it now so we understand!
♥ Cathy

New Flower

lanie940 said:

I was diagnosed with Stage 1
I was diagnosed with Stage 1 IDC this past July. On July 24th, on the 30th I had my lumpectomy, I will finish up with my RADS this week 4 more to go. My Oncotype DX was 21, I opted to forgo CHEMO. It would only give me an improved chance of 2-3 %, so I will just start arimidex sometime soon. My sentinal node was clear also. Mine was caught early also. BUT, now I found out I have Celiac disease, so that is a challange, but I'm dealing with it ok. I had a hernia surgery in Oct, the lumpectomy was a piece of cake compard to the hernia! I really like all my Dr.s that is what is important. You should be fine, we will be praying for you.

I was 46 too when I was diagnosed
initially with stage 1.After surgical biopsy/lupectomy stage II.
I decided and underwent radical mastectomy with immediate reconstruction.
My final pathology report determine that tumor had grown up to the Stage III.
I have no regrets about my mastectomy decision.
I would suggest listen to your oncologist recommendations and ask questions about risk and benefits of both options:mastectomy and lumpectomy.
Good luck with your appointment on Monday.

roseann4

Welcome.
Hi Bree,

I'm glad you found us. I was diagnosed in Feb. with Stage 1 breast cancer. Mine was in a lobe rather than in a duct but Stage 1 is early for both of us. I'm 59 and was prepared to do whatever my doctors advised concerning lumpectomy/mastectomy. They ordered a CAT scan, MRI, and Bone Scan before making the recommendation of a partial mastectomy also called breast conserving surgery. They take more tissue than a lumpectomy but the breast remains. It is somewhat smaller but looks great. My surgeon said that in my case there would be no additional benefit from a full mastectomy based on the stage and location of my tumor. She removed the sentinal node and 2 others during surgery and all were negative. She also ordered an OncoTypeDX test which can tell the likelihood of it returning in 10 years. Based on the rating (low,intermediate,high) they can decide if chemo would be effective in your situation. Be sure to ask for that test is your cancer is node negative. Before 2004, all women had chemo just in case. With this test, those who score low, do not benefit from chemo so they do not have it. I did not have chemo but I had 33 radiation treatments just in case something cells were missed during surgery. I am now on Arimidex because I am post menopausal and my tumor was estrogen positive. They will give you whatever post treatment drug are best for your type of cancer.

Bree, this is a lengthy process but it is doable. Try not to worry because I have finished treatment in Aug. and my life is back to the new normal. I come to this site every day to see if I can help others but I'm living my life happy and healthy.

There is a great book for Stage 1 women called, "Just Get Me Through This" by Debra Cohen. It really helped me with my decisions. You can find it on Amazon.com.

Please keep us posted.

Roseann

jbug

Hi Bree
Sorry that you have to be at this site, but you have come to a great group of supporters! There are women that have every type of bc and every type of treatment (and side effects). All have made varying decisions that were right for them. I'm new to the site as of mid Nov,

I'm 45 have Stage I invasive ductal carcinoma (4mm), ER/PR + and HER2 negative. I had a lumpectomy and have started rads. I elected to just have the lumpectomy, since I have gotten, essentially, a surgical cure and the long term survival rates from mastectomy and lumpectomy are minimal. I wasn't prepared to cope w/bc AND mastectomy and didn't feel, for me, that it was necessary.

Peruse the strings as they will answer lots of your questions...gets lots of information about your diagnosis and choices. Information is Power!

God Bless...Julie

jk1952

roseann4 said:

Welcome.
Hi Bree,

I'm glad you found us. I was diagnosed in Feb. with Stage 1 breast cancer. Mine was in a lobe rather than in a duct but Stage 1 is early for both of us. I'm 59 and was prepared to do whatever my doctors advised concerning lumpectomy/mastectomy. They ordered a CAT scan, MRI, and Bone Scan before making the recommendation of a partial mastectomy also called breast conserving surgery. They take more tissue than a lumpectomy but the breast remains. It is somewhat smaller but looks great. My surgeon said that in my case there would be no additional benefit from a full mastectomy based on the stage and location of my tumor. She removed the sentinal node and 2 others during surgery and all were negative. She also ordered an OncoTypeDX test which can tell the likelihood of it returning in 10 years. Based on the rating (low,intermediate,high) they can decide if chemo would be effective in your situation. Be sure to ask for that test is your cancer is node negative. Before 2004, all women had chemo just in case. With this test, those who score low, do not benefit from chemo so they do not have it. I did not have chemo but I had 33 radiation treatments just in case something cells were missed during surgery. I am now on Arimidex because I am post menopausal and my tumor was estrogen positive. They will give you whatever post treatment drug are best for your type of cancer.

Bree, this is a lengthy process but it is doable. Try not to worry because I have finished treatment in Aug. and my life is back to the new normal. I come to this site every day to see if I can help others but I'm living my life happy and healthy.

There is a great book for Stage 1 women called, "Just Get Me Through This" by Debra Cohen. It really helped me with my decisions. You can find it on Amazon.com.

Please keep us posted.

Roseann

Bree, welcome to a place
Bree, welcome to a place where you never thought you would have to be. I'm sorry that you have to go throught this, but I think that you've come to a good place.

I was originally diagnosed at 47 with a small amount of invasive lobular cancer, with additional spots of DCIS and LCIS (same as DCIS but lobular, not ductal). At that time (2000), I had a lumpectomy and radiation. Earlier this year, DCIS was discovered in the same breast, and I elected a bilateral mastectomy with immediate reconstruction. I think that each decision was the right one at that particular point in time.

It really is your decision, but since your surgeon wants to get it done so quickly, I would probably opt for the lumpectomy. A week wouldn't have been long enough for me to make the drastic decision to have a breast removed. You can always have the mastectomy in the future, if you feel that is the better option, or if tests show that the cancer is more extensive than originally believed. I also am a great proponent for immediate reconstruction, if you have a mastectomy, but this does require coordination with a plastic surgeon and can take weeks for their schedules to work. I would not have wanted to go through the mastectomy recovery to then have to go through recovery for the reconstruction. Plus, I'm tired of procedures and surgeries.

Hope this helps.

Joyce

Kylez

jbug said:

Hi Bree
Sorry that you have to be at this site, but you have come to a great group of supporters! There are women that have every type of bc and every type of treatment (and side effects). All have made varying decisions that were right for them. I'm new to the site as of mid Nov,

I'm 45 have Stage I invasive ductal carcinoma (4mm), ER/PR + and HER2 negative. I had a lumpectomy and have started rads. I elected to just have the lumpectomy, since I have gotten, essentially, a surgical cure and the long term survival rates from mastectomy and lumpectomy are minimal. I wasn't prepared to cope w/bc AND mastectomy and didn't feel, for me, that it was necessary.

Peruse the strings as they will answer lots of your questions...gets lots of information about your diagnosis and choices. Information is Power!

God Bless...Julie

Hey
I was lucky enough that I had a lumpectomy followed by radiation treatments. A mastectomy and a lumpectomy with rads have the same recurrence and survival rate. You really don't know your complete treatment until after your surgery and the pathology report comes in. Good luck to you with whatever you decide.

KYLEZ ♥

Bree

Kylez said:

Hey
I was lucky enough that I had a lumpectomy followed by radiation treatments. A mastectomy and a lumpectomy with rads have the same recurrence and survival rate. You really don't know your complete treatment until after your surgery and the pathology report comes in. Good luck to you with whatever you decide.

KYLEZ ♥

Thank you
I have quite a bit of info back..but today I will speak to my surgeon again. I will be able to put the full picture together.

Bree

Cat64 said:

Bree
What a pretty name. Do they know that both are tumors? I had a cyst close to mine and I still have 5 in the other with very dense breasts. What did they say about Estrogen/Progesterone/Her2? Positive or negative? I am Her2 positive so I still have to do Radiation & Herceptin which could be every 3 weeks for almost a year. What do YOU feel you want to do? The doctors will of course give you their opinions, I'm NOT saying not to trust your doctors, but I feel it is ultimately OUR decision, as it is OUR bodies we are talking about here as far as what treatment course WE want to take. When I first saw my surgeon, he was also ready to do the surgery. I was still in shock and felt everything was going way too fast. I had already researched my diagnosis and options,so I decided to try Chemo first. He then referred me to an Oncologist. I only did 2 treatments. A little rough, but well worth the outcome as I am rather "small". I'm satisfied with my choice. I will pray for you that you get clean results on your other tests and please let us know what the outcome is. No, you are not alone-the women here have been there, done that, or are doing it now so we understand!
♥ Cathy

Tumors
Yes they know that both are tumors. But I also know that it has not spread any more within my breast. Both have moved beyond the ducts and are in the tissue now. My breast tissue is very dense also why I guess she is being careful. But it is this very reason why I feel a lumpectomy may not be the best decision for me. She has said ultimately it is my decision.But my surgeon feels the lumpectomy and radiation are sufficient enough to get me to be clean of cancer. Will find out today.

Brenna

Bree

lanie940 said:

I was diagnosed with Stage 1
I was diagnosed with Stage 1 IDC this past July. On July 24th, on the 30th I had my lumpectomy, I will finish up with my RADS this week 4 more to go. My Oncotype DX was 21, I opted to forgo CHEMO. It would only give me an improved chance of 2-3 %, so I will just start arimidex sometime soon. My sentinal node was clear also. Mine was caught early also. BUT, now I found out I have Celiac disease, so that is a challange, but I'm dealing with it ok. I had a hernia surgery in Oct, the lumpectomy was a piece of cake compard to the hernia! I really like all my Dr.s that is what is important. You should be fine, we will be praying for you.

Thank you.
I guess I am not far enough long in the process to know what all of those things you are saying are. well actually only the Oncotype DX what is that?

Bree

roseann4 said:

Welcome.
Hi Bree,

I'm glad you found us. I was diagnosed in Feb. with Stage 1 breast cancer. Mine was in a lobe rather than in a duct but Stage 1 is early for both of us. I'm 59 and was prepared to do whatever my doctors advised concerning lumpectomy/mastectomy. They ordered a CAT scan, MRI, and Bone Scan before making the recommendation of a partial mastectomy also called breast conserving surgery. They take more tissue than a lumpectomy but the breast remains. It is somewhat smaller but looks great. My surgeon said that in my case there would be no additional benefit from a full mastectomy based on the stage and location of my tumor. She removed the sentinal node and 2 others during surgery and all were negative. She also ordered an OncoTypeDX test which can tell the likelihood of it returning in 10 years. Based on the rating (low,intermediate,high) they can decide if chemo would be effective in your situation. Be sure to ask for that test is your cancer is node negative. Before 2004, all women had chemo just in case. With this test, those who score low, do not benefit from chemo so they do not have it. I did not have chemo but I had 33 radiation treatments just in case something cells were missed during surgery. I am now on Arimidex because I am post menopausal and my tumor was estrogen positive. They will give you whatever post treatment drug are best for your type of cancer.

Bree, this is a lengthy process but it is doable. Try not to worry because I have finished treatment in Aug. and my life is back to the new normal. I come to this site every day to see if I can help others but I'm living my life happy and healthy.

There is a great book for Stage 1 women called, "Just Get Me Through This" by Debra Cohen. It really helped me with my decisions. You can find it on Amazon.com.

Please keep us posted.

Roseann

OncoType test
So I am guessing this test is similar to what I have scheduled which my surgeon has called the genetics test..to see the likelihood of it coming back and when? I am kind of wanting to do what you did...except with the option of building that breast back up to match the other with my own tissue.

Bree

jbug said:

Hi Bree
Sorry that you have to be at this site, but you have come to a great group of supporters! There are women that have every type of bc and every type of treatment (and side effects). All have made varying decisions that were right for them. I'm new to the site as of mid Nov,

I'm 45 have Stage I invasive ductal carcinoma (4mm), ER/PR + and HER2 negative. I had a lumpectomy and have started rads. I elected to just have the lumpectomy, since I have gotten, essentially, a surgical cure and the long term survival rates from mastectomy and lumpectomy are minimal. I wasn't prepared to cope w/bc AND mastectomy and didn't feel, for me, that it was necessary.

Peruse the strings as they will answer lots of your questions...gets lots of information about your diagnosis and choices. Information is Power!

God Bless...Julie

Thank you
Yes mine are 3mm and 5mm not to far from each other. I have thought and thought about the whole mastectomy thing over the lumpectomy. With immediate reconstruction I feel I would not miss my natural breast at all. It has always been the "small" one and I've never much liked how lopsided it made me look and feel. So maybe you can see why this decision might not be so hard to me as on others.

cindycflynn

Bree said:

Thank you
Yes mine are 3mm and 5mm not to far from each other. I have thought and thought about the whole mastectomy thing over the lumpectomy. With immediate reconstruction I feel I would not miss my natural breast at all. It has always been the "small" one and I've never much liked how lopsided it made me look and feel. So maybe you can see why this decision might not be so hard to me as on others.

Bree
Welcome to this site!

I understand your dilemma. I was a stage I, with 1 1.3 cm tumor. I opted for the lumpectomy with a side of radiation for two main reasons:

1. I hope to preserve my breast and the sensation that goes with it. Since my tumor was small, I hoped that the physical effects would be minimal. Even though they do amazing things with reconstruction these days, losing my nipple would make me just feel different and I just wasn't ready to part with that if I didn't have to.

2. With the lumpectomy, I was only off work for 2 weeks for the surgery. I should be able to work through most of my chemo and radiation, so I felt that this would minimize my time away from work. If I had opted for the mastectomy I would have preferred immediate reconstruction, which would have meant a much more extensive surgical procedure and recovery.

My doctor assured me that either choice would give me the same long-term results in terms of beating the disease, so it was really up to me. That being said, I do occasionally now second guess myself and think it may have been preferable in some ways to go the route of the mastectomy. I'm getting tired just thinking about the treatments I still have to come and sometimes wish I had just "gotten it over with".

Good luck with your decision, I know it's not an easy one, but you'll make the best one for you in the long run.

Take care,
Cindy