Welcome back! I had to wait about 5-7 business days for my biopsy results. I made an appointment on Monday, November 13th with my gyn to get those results. I had been having trouble with my “patient portal” which shall remain nameless, and it was only uploading notes and stuff from my doctor’s visits to my primary care physician. Apparently, I had two different medical record numbers, and when I made my appointment for the mammogram with contrast, they said they would have it corrected. And, did they ever.
On Saturday morning, I woke up to a text that said I had new medical records uploaded to my patient portal. I logged on and there it was: I had invasive ductal carcinoma Grade 2 (IDC) of about 12 mm. I came out of the bedroom and said to my husband, who was sitting on the couch, “I have cancer.” He looked at me, thinking I was dreaming. I said, “No, really, I have cancer,” and read him the pathology report. He was in shock and I was also in shock with a hollow feeling in my gut.
So I went to my appointment knowing the result. I made a binder with all my results and paper to write down questions, etc. I was referred to a highly recommended surgical oncologist. She was, in fact, recommended by the radiologist who did my biopsy. More on that in another entry.
I immediately started researching. According to breastcancer.org, invasive ductal carcinoma accounts for 65 – 75% of all breast cancers. This website discusses the signs and symptoms of ductal carcinoma. I had no signs of symptoms outside of the abnormal mammogram. Symptoms can include:
- swelling of all or part of the breast
- skin irritation skin dimpling, sometimes looking like an orange peel breast or
- nipple pain nipple turning inward (retraction)
- nipple discharge, other than breast milk
- redness, scaliness, or thickening of the nipple or breast skin a lump or swelling in the underarm area.
I had my first visit with Dr. E, my surgical oncologist, on November 20th. Her office is close to my home, which is great. Everyone at the office was very kind, from the receptionist to the nurse practitioner to the cancer navigator. The doctor did a quick ultrasound exam in which I was able to see the hematoma in my breast and the marker clip. It looked huge, but I was assured it was small. We went over my pathology report. I have Estrogen receptor-positive, progesterone-positive with HER2/neu-negative tumor markers. I am in stage 1. (Breast cancer stages ) This is a slow-growing cancer, thankfully, I am told.
These tumor markers, what do they mean? Breast cancer cells that have receptors for the hormone estrogen are called estrogen receptor–positive. Those with receptors for the hormone progesterone are called progesterone receptor–positive. If these receptors are not present, the cell is called hormone receptor–negative. Tumors that are hormone receptor–positive are more likely to respond to therapy with medications that lower the level of estrogen in your body, which take advantage of the cancer cell’s dependence on hormones for growth. They can also grow more slowly and in different patterns, although this varies quite a bit. HER2/neu is a gene that, when activated, helps tumors grow. Tumors that have higher-than-normal amounts of this protein are called HER2 positive. 1
I am now awaiting results of genetic testing. I was counseled that there are 9 main gene mutations for which there are guidelines for treatment in place, and many more, but they are looking at those 9 first. My next appointment is on Dec 6 where I will learn the results of my genetic testing and there might be a possibily of treatment change.
Right now the treatment plan is a lumpectomy with targeted radiation for 4-6 weeks five days a week. That could change with genetic mutations. We shall see.
