- Joined
- Sep 10, 2006
- Messages
- 4,095
Well, figured I might as well get straight to the point and not beat around the bush. There, it's out.
I am extremely fortunate to only be diagnosed with DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ). This is the mildest form of breast cancer you can get, and it is not invasive. Prognosis is very good. Yay!!!
I just received my diagnosis Friday. This all started from my routine annual mammogram - there is no palpable lump. Got a call back that the mammo was abnormal for microcalcifications. Had to go back in for a magnified mammo. The radiologist then recommended a biopsy and rated it as BI-RAD4 (for the medical crowd out there).
I had to have a stereotactic vacuum-assisted core biopsy. That was on Wednesday. I've been a wreck ever since this started, muddling through day-to-day...the waiting, oh the waiting. DH and I were comforted by the fact that 80% of biopsies come back benign, and also by the surgeon reassuring us that he really thought it was just going to be fibrocystic breast disease.
Well, unluckily for me I fell in the 20% of not benign.
Surgeon recommends lumpectomy with sentinel node biopsy (to make sure it hasn't spread...even though DCIS doesn't spread - I guess there could be other invasive types lingering, so they want to be sure). Oh, and for the medical ones - it's intermediate nuclear grade with comedo necrosis (yeah - looked that up - appears that means it grows faster? Yippee.) However "no invasion identified", so that is GREAT news. Also, it is estrogen and progesterone 100% positive.
Oh, and I will also need radiation, but as of now, no chemo since DCIS is not metastatic.
I have a second opinion tomorrow with another surgeon to make sure the dx/treatment plan is what is best for me. Fortunately for me, there is a National Cancer Institute cancer center here...and my appt happens to be with the medical director. So I'm really psyched to have those resources. They are also running a clinical trial for internal radiation here, and I'm hoping I may qualify for that. We'll see.
Guess that's it in a nutshell. Well, guess I'll never get approved for private health insurance now. That sure does mess with the FIRE plans!
I am extremely fortunate to only be diagnosed with DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ). This is the mildest form of breast cancer you can get, and it is not invasive. Prognosis is very good. Yay!!!
I just received my diagnosis Friday. This all started from my routine annual mammogram - there is no palpable lump. Got a call back that the mammo was abnormal for microcalcifications. Had to go back in for a magnified mammo. The radiologist then recommended a biopsy and rated it as BI-RAD4 (for the medical crowd out there).
I had to have a stereotactic vacuum-assisted core biopsy. That was on Wednesday. I've been a wreck ever since this started, muddling through day-to-day...the waiting, oh the waiting. DH and I were comforted by the fact that 80% of biopsies come back benign, and also by the surgeon reassuring us that he really thought it was just going to be fibrocystic breast disease.
Well, unluckily for me I fell in the 20% of not benign.
Surgeon recommends lumpectomy with sentinel node biopsy (to make sure it hasn't spread...even though DCIS doesn't spread - I guess there could be other invasive types lingering, so they want to be sure). Oh, and for the medical ones - it's intermediate nuclear grade with comedo necrosis (yeah - looked that up - appears that means it grows faster? Yippee.) However "no invasion identified", so that is GREAT news. Also, it is estrogen and progesterone 100% positive.
Oh, and I will also need radiation, but as of now, no chemo since DCIS is not metastatic.
I have a second opinion tomorrow with another surgeon to make sure the dx/treatment plan is what is best for me. Fortunately for me, there is a National Cancer Institute cancer center here...and my appt happens to be with the medical director. So I'm really psyched to have those resources. They are also running a clinical trial for internal radiation here, and I'm hoping I may qualify for that. We'll see.
Guess that's it in a nutshell. Well, guess I'll never get approved for private health insurance now. That sure does mess with the FIRE plans!