Breast cancer 1.5cm, group 2

My MRI was 2 weeks after diagnosis then op 4 weeks that. I had grade 2 invasive ductal cancer.

Thank you for your reply. My mum has grade 2 invasive ducal cancer. How big was your tumour when you were diagnosed? Did it increase in size or spread during the 6 weeks wait until the op? Did you have a chemotherapy after the op? How are you now? 

Hi you have come to the right place for support.

With Breast Cancer there are lots of different types. Please be assured it is a seamless system and once the multidisciplinary team, surgeons, pathologists, oncologists and breast care nurses to name a few(!) have all tbe available info about your Mum's particular cancer a treatment plan will be drawn up. It will depend on what sort of cancer it is.

When medics say fast growing it sounds scary but it just means cells are dividing faster than some types. Normal cells rest at night but cancer cells have a faulty off switch.

Getting all the information together is more important than rushing into a treatment which might be less appropriate.

Your Mum's  care will have been fast tracked and breast cancer is very well researched so the optimum treatment is available in a timely fashion.

I know how hard waiting is, we all do. Once you have a treatment plan for your Mum things feel easier. You don't say how old she is?

Thank you Wendy. This is reassuring! She's 56. 

Hi

I hope I can give a bit more reassurance.  I was diagnosed in 2017 with 1.5cm grade 2 (ER+) breast cancer.  (I also had grade 3 of 5.4cm of pre cancerous cells which had to be removed).  Grade 2 (rather than group) is intermediate growing, The fastest growing is grade 3.  They might have said fast, meaning that it is faster than grade 1.  I was 51 when I was diagnosed.

They didn't suspect that my cancer had got to my lymph nodes, so I didn't have an MRI or chemo - but some hospitals do an MRI automatically.  The lymph nodes under the arm are there to 'trap' the cancer cells, so I suspect they will be checking if there are cancer cells in her lymph nodes / if there are, how well they have been trapped by your Mum's lymph nodes with the MRI.

I was diagnosed in June and I had my operation in July (about a month later).  As mine was ER+ cancer and hadn't got to my lymph nodes, I didn't need chemotherapy, just had the lumpectomy (now called a wide local excision) and radiotherapy. So, as has been said previously, it depends on what type of cancer your Mum has and if it has got to her lymph nodes.  ER+ type without lymph node involvement at your Mum's age, would typically be the only  type where she would not need to have chemo.

1.5cm tumor is stage 1 if it hasn't got to her lymph nodes.  (stage 1 being the best diagnosis... well - stage 1 grade 1 would be the best... but stage 1, grade 2 is pretty good too!)

Even if it has been trapped by her lymph nodes, then they will just remove them during an operation.  They do this with the sentinel lymph nodes anyway during the operation (which are the main ones under the armpit) and then they test after the operation just to be sure. 

It will be a huge shock to you and your Mum with this diagnosis, but although you will feel as if you've been hit like a thunderbolt from the blue, it's surprising how you do just 'get on' with the treatment plan and get through it.  I sometimes now have to remind myself that I've had cancer as I didn't feel ill before, during the treatment or after!  

I have other 'medical issues' due to a major road accident when I was 17 and I had to wait nearly a year for an appointment I wanted  in relation to this but when I received treatment for my breast cancer - wow -  It's like a 5 star service!  The NHS and charities involved with the treatment and your Mum's mental well-being is just amazing and almost unbelievable when you hear some of the stories about the NHS struggling - I honestly believe, that I actually had better treatment than if I'd paid to go private, it really is that good.  

As you've found us, your Mum might like to join and chat with us ladies who know what she's going through to get more support and also there will be all sorts of hints and tips regarding treatment which aren't necessarily mentioned by her team.  (e.g. I got told about a radiotherapy cream to use).

You might also like to join this group to get particular support for yourself as it's not easy watching your loved one be diagnosed is it?

Kindest wishes,

Hi lesleyhelen

I can't thank you enough for your time to explain in such detail - it is so helpful! Thank you very much!

My Mum is ER & PR 8/8 positive, HER2 negative, and grade two (not group apologies). Today we went for a CT scan and on Monday she'll have MRI followed by a consultation with a surgeon to discuss the results few days later. I am so pleased with how quickly NHS have responded so far. I'm praying the test results will be okay, we'll find out next week. 

Anna xx 

Hi

Tumour was 7mm when diagnosed but was 13mm when removed (but remember scams are exact) Lympth nodes were negative when biopsy put when were positive when operated on. I’m waiting to hear about treatment plan but chemo or optima trial it will be. It’s still early days and the wait is the hardest, it can take up to 12 weeks to start treatment x

Hi

It's a pleasure to help out on here as much as we can as we know what it's like. You either don't know what questions to ask at the appointments or ones you have - just totally get forgotten when you're there!

Your Mum is the same score as I was 8/8 for ER &PR.  This means that whatever other treatment she has she will be on hormone therapy for the next 5 years minimum (some people have then longer, but I don't know why).  If she is post menopause then she will be given either Letrozole or Anastrozole.  (pre menopause is Tamoxifen).  With regards the tablets - they strip oestrogen from the body which is what 'feeds' the cancer.  I've been on Anastrozole since a few weeks after my operation ie. the first time I met with my oncologist after they'd had the biopsy results and just prior to my radiotherapy appoint.  (My surgeon and oncologist were in different hospitals 30 miles away from each other).  The tablets CAN have side effects and a lot of women on here will discuss the side effects.  However - they may not and it is generally only the women who have the side effects will be discussing them on this forum so it is important to bear this in mind.  I have done very well and only have the 'odd' achy thumb or knee once in a while on mine.  But now's not the time to worry about that - it's just so you know that if she reads anything about them, not to think she's automatically going to suffer.  I nearly didn't take mine as I was so worried about quality of life because of Googling their side effects!  She must try and see which tablets suit her (they all have different coatings etc which can cause side effects and there are other options for women who can't cope with them).

So, the 8/8 means that she is the most amount of Oestrogen positive, which is excellent.  The tablets will have the maximum effect!

Since I was diagnosed there has been a new test which is sent to America, called the Oncotype DX test.  This gives a far more accurate reading of the amount of oestrogen positivity.  I'm not sure if all womens' samples (after the op.) get sent for testing because as I say it wasn't around for me in 2017 - which shows just how quickly things are developing and improving in the 'cancer world'.  

If the oestrogen positivity comes back a lot less than first thought from the Oncotype DX test then they give the option of chemo. 

Again, I wasn't offered MRI or CT scan back in 2017.  Not sure if this is for 1) they don't at my hospital and her hospital is fantastic at cancer services or 2) they were convinced that it hadn't got to my lymph nodes.  3) it's a new development.

Your Mum might already have an idea of her expected treatment?  I was told from the word go  - operation and radiotherapy.  Not once did they mention chemo. so they were clearly 99% sure mine hadn't spread to my lymph nodes. 

Once she has the results of the MRI/CT then yes, they will be able to give your Mum a confirmed treatment plan.  Which of course can always change.... if after the operation, they had discovered some cancerous cells in my lymph nodes, then I would have had to have chemo.  If the Oncotype DX had been around and it came back with a lower score, then again - I might have to have had chemo. so be prepared that they only go on what they know until it's confirmed with results.

Everyone on here will confirm that the waiting for results is THE hardest part of dealing with the cancer diagnosis.  Once you know what you are dealing with you can get your mindset with dealing with the treatment.

Do let us know the results when she gets them won't you?

Kindest wishes,

Thank you very much Lesley. This is so helpful. We were just reading your response, as you said we'll know more once the results are ready - seems like a long wait, we're hoping for the best. 

I'll write on here what her recommended treatment plan is. 

Anna x

I am confused...She had CT scan last week followed by MRI this Monday. We were told that we'll have an appointment with a doctor to discuss the results and decided on a treatment plan yesterday. We went to the clinic and the consultant we saw told that the cancer hasn't spread to the lymph nodes but they have seen on the MRI scan some tiny dots on the other side, doesn't look like a tumour but can be cancerous. She then had an ultrasound to see what it looks like but it didn't show anything. We then went to see the same consultant to discuss the ultrasound result. He said they need to do MRI guided biopsy on the other side to determine what it is. Only one clinic in London performs such procedure and it is likely to be done in the new year. So she has two options - have the surgery on one side and follow up on the examination on the other side. If cancerous, it gets treated subsequently. The other option is wait for the results from the biopsy and start treating both sides if needed. 

The doctor said we can start with chemotherapy now until the biopsy is done. I was shocked - I asked why chemotherapy since she's HER2 negative, we were told at a different hospital following the first sets of biopsy that she'll be treated with medication. He looked at her notes and said, we can try medicines. He also said since the cancer is spread to the lymph nodes under her arm and I stopped him - I said an hour ago you told us it's not spread to the lymph nodes, and now it is? His reply was it is. He said he'll discuss with his colleagues what treatment plan they decide and a nurse will give us a call. I was hoping we'll be told there and then regarding the treatment plan! Does it sound like a normal procedure not to be told of a treatment plan straight away?

I also wonder if anyone has heard of apricot kernels that help treat cancer? Have you tried them? I asked the doctor and he said they'll do no harm. He went of the things they contain is used in their cancer treatment but didn't say how many per day she can take as I know they can be poisonous if taken in large quantities but have no affect if taken in small ones.