Its hard to find any information about it. I haven't seen the oncologist yet so I hope he is up to speed on it. From what I have read its fairly aggressive with high levels of lymphovascular involvement and shorter recurrence time. Nasty. Going for an axillary node clearance in a couple of weeks. I guess I'll be having all the adjuvant therapies...oh joy.
Am sure your oncologist will know exactly what to do for you. I guess if it’s faster growing it is more responsive to chemo? The chemo wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, though the unknown was daunting beforehand. I hope you find your rhythm with it all too. Good luck for your oncology appointment too xxx
Hi, I too have invasive micro papillary, diagnosed January, started chemo late February, now had 6/8 chemo before getting full mastectomy, axillary clearance then radiotherapy. Mine is stage 3c, not good. Shows lymphovascular invasion, multi centric tumours, lots of axillary lymph nodes and 2 retro clavicular lymph nodes. All bad prognostic factors. Because it’s rare, there’s not a huge amount about it. Some papers from China, Taiwan. It can be scary to read up about, but overall they are thinking it’s not any worse than invasive ductal. There is no specific treatment other than usual breast cancer treatment for your stage. My oncologist was still fairly upbeat, aiming for curative intent, and saying IMP came in various guises.
Hi Eileen, thanks so much for that. I'm sorry to hear how invasive it is in your case. I was wondering how they know it is in your specific lymph nodes without exploritory surgery first? What scanning technique did they use? Also I would be very interested in the particular chemo used. I thought IMPC may be resistant to some types. I dont think they know a lot about it yet.
My next step (just had lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy then complete axillary node clearance) is to speak to the oncologist and make a treatment plan involving hormone therapy, chemo and radiation. I am 100% hormone positive, her2 neg and 4 nodes positive. My tumor was only 13mm so everyone was surprised at the node involvement. But that's what IMPC does best.
I hope your experience with chemo is kind to you. I'm rather scared of that...long term damage etc. Thanks for sharing.
I thought this was interesting and relatively recent.
Hi, they could see axillary lymph nodes on the initial ultrasound and biopsy confirmed. I had a CT scan of chest, abdomen, pelvis which showed up the 2 clavicular lymph nodes, which were then biopsied confirming cancer. I had 4 rounds of epirubicin and cyclophosphamide then 4 of docetaxol, 2 to go. That is fairly standard treatment, they don’t seem to have studied different chemos for IMP, because there aren’t enough numbers. I am E/P +ve and HER -ve, too, so will get oestrogen blockers and bisphosphonates after. I have sent you a friend request on here x
Good luck with your recovery. Hope you are feeling OK after your surgery. How is your armpit doing? I seem to remember that being the most uncomfortable part. I hope you are doing well and gradually being able to move your arm a little more each day. Thinking of you xx
Ahh the armpit! Now that is really sore all the way down to my elbow. Also it has developed a seroma which had to be syringed out. 2 more affected nodes found so worth the dissection. Although it does put me up from stage 2 to stage 3 which kinda sounds worse ( the difference of one extra node).
It does take a while to settle - a bit of a poker in the armpit is the best way I could describe it. I wouldn't worry about stage too much, other than that it can guide your treatment plan. It is only one more node and I suppose the line has to be drawn somewhere.
I am doing well at last. Am just over 3 months out of chemo and about 8 weeks from radiotherapy. I am feeling much more my normal self again. My arm moves well after radiotherapy -a bit stiff if I don't do my exercises, but its pretty good considering. x
Glad to here you are feeling more yourself Zephyr. Its definitely a trip. What chemo did you have as a matter of interest? Will you be on hormone therapy too?
