Newbie ...Question when did you find out what stage you're in?

Hope 2010
Hope 2010 Member Posts: 62
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
I was recently diagnosed with breast cancer...actually it was yesterday they confirmed. Luckly I was able to have the biopsy done on Mon after my mammogram. And they called me on Tues letting me know that the results of the pathology report. Today I met with an oncologist, but forgot to ask at what point will I know what is the stage of the cancer. This is going so fast that it's all a blurr and my head is spinning. I was diagnosed with Invasive Duct Carcinoma an Intraductal Carcinoma, Cribriform Type. So my question to you is when did you find out what stage you're in?

I've gone through some of the posting and I think it's great that there is a support out there.

Comments

  • Marcia527
    Marcia527 Member Posts: 2,729
    #2
    I was staged after the scans
    I was staged after the scans and all tests were done. For me my tumors were so large that I was staged before we knew if it was in the nodes or not. I was a stage 3a.
  • New Flower
    New Flower Member Posts: 4,294 Member
    #3
    Hi Hope
    Welcome to the site. The final staging is done after the tumor is removed with clear margins, lymph nodes biopsy and PET scans, confirming that it has been spread to other organs. Mine was done after mastectomy and lymph nodes removal -stage IIIC.
    Good luck,
    New Flower
  • lener
    lener Member Posts: 1
    #4
    My pathology report said Ductal Cacinoma in situ at stage T1M0N0
    Hi Hope, this is your black sister in Uganda. I had lumpectomy 2 weeks ago in my right breast and pathology report said stage 1 (T1M0NO). I'm being lined up for chemo then rads then the homornal treatment (tamox). I joined this forum today for support. Right now I do not have any pain save from a bit of anxiety not sure how chemo will react with my body. I am glad to be part of this forum from far away in east Africa.. Lener
  • Hubby
    Hubby Member Posts: 325
    #5
    Things you need to know
    There are a lot of important things to know about your tumor, including the stage, grade, and receptor status (ER, PR and HER2 positive or negative). My wife and I wrote down a list a questions and called our doctor back. They should already have a preliminary stage number based on the size of the tumor and the grade. It may change after the tumor is removed. Also, ask for a copy of the pathology report.

    You need a quick self education.
  • DianeBC
    DianeBC Member Posts: 3,881 Member
    #6
    Hubby said:

    Things you need to know
    There are a lot of important things to know about your tumor, including the stage, grade, and receptor status (ER, PR and HER2 positive or negative). My wife and I wrote down a list a questions and called our doctor back. They should already have a preliminary stage number based on the size of the tumor and the grade. It may change after the tumor is removed. Also, ask for a copy of the pathology report.

    You need a quick self education.

    You find out your grade,
    You find out your grade, staging etc. after your surgery. It is in the pathology report. Someone on here talked about finding this info out from a core biopsy, but, you really don't get a true report until after the tumor is removed from surgery. So, after you have your surgery and the tumor is removed, the pathologist will run tests on it and will issue the path report. Your oncologist will go over it with you then too. Be sure and get a copy of it for your own files. Good luck!
  • GregStahl
    GregStahl Member Posts: 188
    #7
    We were told
    that final stage would be determined after surgery. Wife has invasive DC T3 triple neg and the lump was 1cm but has grown significantly since original diagnoses.
  • Angie2U
    Angie2U Member Posts: 2,991
    #8
    GregStahl said:

    We were told
    that final stage would be determined after surgery. Wife has invasive DC T3 triple neg and the lump was 1cm but has grown significantly since original diagnoses.

    You get all of the
    You get all of the information about your bc after your surgery. Your core biopsy will tell you if you have bc, but, the information following that can change. They can't tell you the grade or stage just from that. Your pathology report that is given to your oncologist after your surgery has all of that information that he will go over with you. So, once you have your surgery, whether it be a lumpectomy or mastectomy, you will find everything out and your oncologist will have a treatment plan for you.
  • Hope 2010
    Hope 2010 Member Posts: 62
    #9
    Thank You...
    Thank you all for your information. I do have the pathology report but it didn't give me the subtype, but we were waiting for additional information. I only got the preliminary diagnoses. It's nice to be able to go online and find additional support from others who know what I'm going through...or knows of someone. It know it will be a long journey with a lot of things to learn about. Thanks
  • Hubby
    Hubby Member Posts: 325
    #10
    Hubby said:

    Things you need to know
    There are a lot of important things to know about your tumor, including the stage, grade, and receptor status (ER, PR and HER2 positive or negative). My wife and I wrote down a list a questions and called our doctor back. They should already have a preliminary stage number based on the size of the tumor and the grade. It may change after the tumor is removed. Also, ask for a copy of the pathology report.

    You need a quick self education.

    Delegate
    One thing that is helping my wife through this is that she asked me to make a lot of the calls for her. There are a lot of logistics, making sure that reports are ready before appointments happen, referrals, etc.; and if you have someone that can take some of this off your plate, it will help. My wife was given a stage at the first appointment to review the core biopsy results and fortunately, that was one of the things that didn't change.

    Yes, the final staging will be given after the surgery, but they base what type of surgery on preliminary staging from the biopsy pathology, sonograms, mamographies and MRI's. Good luck, and sorry you need to be here. I'm sorry we all need to be here.

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