Can you have 2 cancers in same breast?

jo jo
jo jo Member Posts: 1,175 Member
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
When i was at my doc's they just happened to state something about my CANCERS...i said you mean cancer not cancers...she said no you had two different types of cancer...I was floored cuz nobody told me this and im just finding out now. What the heck!
Anyway she said i had DCIS and IDC both in the same breast. Has anyone had 2 different types like this or am i an odd ball with all the weird corks again or still.
Man this has just been one weird week.
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Comments

  • RE
    RE Member Posts: 4,591 Member
    #2
    Hi JOJO
    I am surprised they did not tell you this upfront, my sister has 2 different cancers in one breast and a different cancer in the other breast so three different cancers total. My first and second cancer's were one and the same, 9 years later the new cancer was not related at all to the original one which is a good thing because the original cancer was a more deadly form.

    ❤ RE ❤
  • Deb55
    Deb55 Member Posts: 5
    #3
    2 cancers in one breast
    In 2008 I had DCIS stage 0; just had mastectomy with immediate reconstruction(with tramflap); no treatments, no lymphs removed... However, then this past April 2010 went for Annual exam; BOOM...the other breast; first said to be same kind of BC DCIS but with chronic mastitis in the background.. then after mastectomy which he removed the main lymph node, the pathology report was DCIS, BUT ALSO CONTAINED AN INVASIVE CANCER WHICH MADE UP 2.5 OF THE 3.0 SIZE...so they said I actually had 2 different types of cancers in the same breast... one was same as first breast, but the second was the most aggressive type of BC you can have(triple neg; grade 3 stage 2a. Praise the Lord, there were no cells present in the lymph nodes, nor in the marginal area...had PETSCAN....all showed normal and good..but my oncologist set up 8 treatments 4 A/C and 4 Taxol (1 every other Thurs). The A/C have about killed me literally...so sick, but have worked since the last one; now I start on TAXOL this Thursday...sure pray it is better on my stomach(I have Fibromyalgia and IBS. But yes there is such a diagnosis as 2 different cancers at one time...kind of scary, since no one that I am aware of in my family have had it, except distant cousins...
    Pray sll will be well with you.
    Deb55
  • MomMichelle
    MomMichelle Member Posts: 93
    #4
    I too was first diagnosed
    I too was first diagnosed with DCIS but after the mastectomy, they found a very small area (4mm) of IDC. I think it is not uncommmon. Obviously when first diagnosed as DCIS, you hope for there to be nothing else found. Often the doctors, if they know ahead of time, will treat your cancer looking the more critical one. If they had not found that 4mm invasion, I would not be looking at chemo starting this week.
  • Sher43009
    Sher43009 Member Posts: 602 Member
    #5
    MomMichelle said:

    I too was first diagnosed
    I too was first diagnosed with DCIS but after the mastectomy, they found a very small area (4mm) of IDC. I think it is not uncommmon. Obviously when first diagnosed as DCIS, you hope for there to be nothing else found. Often the doctors, if they know ahead of time, will treat your cancer looking the more critical one. If they had not found that 4mm invasion, I would not be looking at chemo starting this week.

    2 Cancers
    Hi Jo Jo

    I also had both IDC and DCIS. The way it was explained to me is my cancers started with DCIS which means it stayed in the ducts then some of it increased or grew outside the ducts into IDC. My surgeon gave me copies of my pathology reports then explained what everything meant on it.

    Hope this helps.
    Sher
  • TraciInLA
    TraciInLA Member Posts: 1,994 Member
    #6
    Sher43009 said:

    2 Cancers
    Hi Jo Jo

    I also had both IDC and DCIS. The way it was explained to me is my cancers started with DCIS which means it stayed in the ducts then some of it increased or grew outside the ducts into IDC. My surgeon gave me copies of my pathology reports then explained what everything meant on it.

    Hope this helps.
    Sher

    Same as Sher
    The way Sher explains it is exactly how my surgeon explained it. My biopsy found the IDC, and the surrounding DCIS was found during surgery -- my surgeon sounded like he expected to find some areas of DCIS, he wasn't surprised or concerned at all.

    And...just because I have to be an overachiever :-), I had ILC (invasive lobular, rather than ductal) in the other breast.

    It's like Buy One Cancer, Get One Free -- oh, how I love a good sale! :-)

    Traci
  • lillith
    lillith Member Posts: 29
    #7
    2 right side
    I had 2 tumors in right breast: 1st lump was 2.7cm, 2nd lump was 1.7cm. Both were IDC but had very different genetic profiles (OncotypeDX breast cancer assay from Genomic Health). They weren't from the same source or whatever. Also they were not in same quadrant making it Multicentric BC.

    Because there were 2, they told me I had to have a mastectomy - no lumpectomy.
  • 2Floridiansisters
    2Floridiansisters Member Posts: 384 Member
    #8
    Yes, I do....
    I was diagnosed with having DCIS and Invasive Lobular Carcinoma in my right breasr back in May. The mamogram picked up the DCIS and not the ILC, I went for a steriotactic core biopsy and that is when they discovered I have the 2 types, one was sitting directly on top of the other.

    I am having chemo to shrink the ILC, it was originally 4.5 cm, now that it is shrunk I will be having a second MRI to see how much is still in there. I am scheduled for a lumpectomy on Sepember 15th, then after that I'll do 33 radiation treatments.
  • elm3544
    elm3544 Member Posts: 748
    #9
    yes.I had IDC and DCIS, they
    yes.I had IDC and DCIS, they were right next to eachother. The way it was explained to me is they were the same type of cancer, just one had spread to the margins and one hadn't. I had a lumpectomy and both were removed leaving one big cavity.
  • jk1952
    jk1952 Member Posts: 613
    #10
    elm3544 said:

    yes.I had IDC and DCIS, they
    yes.I had IDC and DCIS, they were right next to eachother. The way it was explained to me is they were the same type of cancer, just one had spread to the margins and one hadn't. I had a lumpectomy and both were removed leaving one big cavity.

    I'm an over-achiever like
    I'm an over-achiever like Traci. I had three kinds in one breast: invasive lobular, DCIS and LCIS (same as DCIS but lobular, not ductal). I would think that the two lobular were related, but not the ductal. All were in the same area.

    Nine years later, I had DCIS in the same breast but in two different locations.

    Joyce
  • carkris
    carkris Member Posts: 4,553 Member
    #11
    jk1952 said:

    I'm an over-achiever like
    I'm an over-achiever like Traci. I had three kinds in one breast: invasive lobular, DCIS and LCIS (same as DCIS but lobular, not ductal). I would think that the two lobular were related, but not the ductal. All were in the same area.

    Nine years later, I had DCIS in the same breast but in two different locations.

    Joyce

    the way they have explained
    the way they have explained it is true, the DCIS may have become an invasive cancer at some point they just dont know when. I had IDC 8mm -1cm my first time, and had to have a mastectomy because they could not get margins. turns out I had scant but scattered DCIS and I still had a local recurrence. 16 years later this one is lobular, I think they were pretty suprised. It did not show up on mammo, lobulars are sneaky and dont form in lump like patterns so dont show up as well. MRI 's pick them up better. I was angry because I didnt know this and would have asked for one. I think its best mammo every year and MRI everyear, so you have something every six months.
  • Angie2U
    Angie2U Member Posts: 2,991
    #12
    carkris said:

    the way they have explained
    the way they have explained it is true, the DCIS may have become an invasive cancer at some point they just dont know when. I had IDC 8mm -1cm my first time, and had to have a mastectomy because they could not get margins. turns out I had scant but scattered DCIS and I still had a local recurrence. 16 years later this one is lobular, I think they were pretty suprised. It did not show up on mammo, lobulars are sneaky and dont form in lump like patterns so dont show up as well. MRI 's pick them up better. I was angry because I didnt know this and would have asked for one. I think its best mammo every year and MRI everyear, so you have something every six months.

    I had two cancers too, DCIS
    I had two cancers too, DCIS and IDC. I think it pretty common actually.

    It states that on my pathology report too.


    Hugs, Angie
  • survives
    survives Member Posts: 254 Member
    #13
    Angie2U said:

    I had two cancers too, DCIS
    I had two cancers too, DCIS and IDC. I think it pretty common actually.

    It states that on my pathology report too.


    Hugs, Angie

    Me, too!
    I had three calcifications lined up smartly....one was dcis, one was idc, then other was "just" a calcification. Like Angie says, it's pretty common.
  • jo jo
    jo jo Member Posts: 1,175 Member
    #14
    Ok great now were all
    Ok great now were all oddballs and im not the only one!
    I knew there were more reasons why i fired my onc doc...cause he neglected to inform me of this...bad doc, bad!
  • jackiejhm
    jackiejhm Member Posts: 169
    #15
    jo jo said:

    Ok great now were all
    Ok great now were all oddballs and im not the only one!
    I knew there were more reasons why i fired my onc doc...cause he neglected to inform me of this...bad doc, bad!

    memememememe
    I had the same dx. You are not alone, my dear JoJo! xoxo, Jackie
  • DebbyM
    DebbyM Member Posts: 3,289 Member
    #16
    Sher43009 said:

    2 Cancers
    Hi Jo Jo

    I also had both IDC and DCIS. The way it was explained to me is my cancers started with DCIS which means it stayed in the ducts then some of it increased or grew outside the ducts into IDC. My surgeon gave me copies of my pathology reports then explained what everything meant on it.

    Hope this helps.
    Sher

    I too had IDC and DCIS.
    I too had IDC and DCIS. Looks like most of us did.

    Hugs, Debby
  • VickiSam
    VickiSam Member Posts: 9,079 Member
    #17
    jackiejhm said:

    memememememe
    I had the same dx. You are not alone, my dear JoJo! xoxo, Jackie

    DCIS // IDC - plus I'm Her2 positive ... does this mean
    I had 3 different cancers in 1 breast ? Not trying to out do anyone, just asking ?


    Vicki Sam
  • tjohnson2310
    tjohnson2310 Member Posts: 168 Member
    #18
    IDC and DCIS
    I have both in the right breast. But when they told me they focused on the IDC. I also read it on a copy of mt pathology report.
  • Sher43009
    Sher43009 Member Posts: 602 Member
    #19
    VickiSam said:

    DCIS // IDC - plus I'm Her2 positive ... does this mean
    I had 3 different cancers in 1 breast ? Not trying to out do anyone, just asking ?


    Vicki Sam

    Her2
    I'm also Her2+ and on Herceptin every 3 weeks (only 3 more to go!!). Her2 is a protein not a cancer. It attaches itself to the cancer telling the cells to multiply faster making it spread faster. Herceptin works as a blocker of the Her2 protein simular to what Tamoxifen does to estrogen. (I'm also ER & PR +--triple +). What fun!!

    Sher
  • sohardbnme
    sohardbnme Member Posts: 129
    #20
    You are not an odd ball...
    JoJo,
    I had two clusters of microcalcification...
    One is DCIS grade 3 and the other is IDC grade 2 in my left breast...
  • cahjah75
    cahjah75 Member Posts: 2,631
    #21
    Yes, JoJo we're
    all oddballs. lol My surgeon explained to me why breast MRI and pathology reports were different. I had Invasive Lobular Carcinoma in right breast (6.1cm) but after pathology it was only 3.4cm and the rest was LCIS. I also had LCIS in left breast just waiting it's turn. In the end it's all the same - BC.
    Char

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