Results are in

Bellablor

Hi everyone. My results are in , need a pathology degree!. 24mm grade 2 invasive lobular carcinoma. Clear margins from lumpectomy.ER+/PR+/HER-. 1/13 lymph node positive . Pathological stage:pT2,pN1a,pMx, stage 2b. what ever that means!. Will have to google! Surgeon is now  referring me on to oncologist, not sure how long that takes. Not sure what treatment I'm in for? Still have drain in draining away, day 12 now. Has anyone had a drain in for that long? Anyone out there had a similar diagnosis to give me some idea what treatment I'm in for ? Still learning. Thanks again for listening xx Paula

Afraser

Don't google! First commandment in BC land, talk to your surgeon or oncologist, so you get a complete picture. Your oncologist will discuss options, these may well include chemo, so take someone with you who can take notes/remember as it can be a lot to take in. My oncologist gave me information about my proposed treatment in writing - may not cover everything but it's a good start. My drains came out in 4 days at my surgeon's request (he didn't want to risk infection). BUT I got a seroma (persistent fluid) which may have occurred if I'd had the drains in for weeks (there was no fluid draining after 4 days). So best advice I can give is follow your surgeon! Best of luck for the next stage, always feels good to start knowing what you are dealing with.

socoda

Hi @Bellablor, I had a drain in for 8 weeks because it wouldn't drop to the required level for 2 consecutive days. I had a mastectomy with immediate reconstruction using implant so my surgeon didn't want to remove the drain in case it led to a seroma, which is difficult to drain with an implant. I did find that the drain site got very sore so I added some extra micropore tape (from the chemist) to stop it from swinging around and that helped a lot. My surgeon ended up removing the drain as she thought it was causing the fluid through irritation.  As for treatment my tumor was grade 1 stage 2 with no nodes involved so didn't require chemo or radiotherapy,  although I was told if I had had a lumpectomy I would have had radiotherapy. Hope you get rid of the drain soon and get your treatment plan. All the best Xx Cath

melclarity

@Bellablor Great to hear from you and that you are healing. Dont know about the drain, in all my surgeries so far they've been out Day 2. In terms of your diagnosis, so ER+ is Oestrogen positive, PR+ is Progesterone positive and Her2 negative. Grade 2 and Stage 2, there are 4 stages. So in comparison I am ER+ so Oestrogen positive which means its Oestrogen receptive, so you will have to be placed onto a hormone blocker after you finish any sort of treatment such as Tamoxifen seems to be the one. They will talk through exactly what you have and the treatments they recommend. I was Stage 2 but Grade 3, so for me the Grade determined I would have to do Chemo, if I were Grade 2 it would have been debatable. Radiotherapy I would imagine would be on the table too. The only difference is your Her2- in which I have friends with this and have had chemo. Its difficult to say exactly, so I found just go in open minded as I tried to be ahead of it but then was blindsighted by my Oncologist giving me only one option. The other thing too I think maybe Herceptin but hopefully other ladies with a similar diagnosis can shed some light. So hang in there, nothing is a given and remember youre OK and in a good position Hugs Melinda xo 

Michelle_W

Hi Paula,

Your breast cancer is almost the same as mine only I didn't have clear margins so had further surgery a week later and I didn't have anypositive lymph nodes.

I ended up having four rounds of chemo, seven weeks of radium and now taking Tamoxifen for the next ten years (almost four years down). 

I also had a drain in for a couple of weeks after second surgery and still ended up with a seroma which was always mentioned after mammogram and ultrasounds for a couple of years, assume it has gone as not mentioned anymore.

Googling is not always a good thing! can cause more stress!

Having someone with you when you see oncologist is good because they can ask questions that you may not think of at the time and they are able to reinforce what has been said after visit.


All the best on your next step, and we are always learning with this breast cancer!

Regards

Michelle

primek

The oncoligist will carefully explain results, treatment options and recommend best treatment for you. Best of luck. Hope you have that soon. If needing chemo it usually starts within 6 weeks of surgery.

nikkid

Hi @Bellablor - the girls seem to have explained well the various path results (I was ER+ which meant oestrogen receptive, so was put on Tamoxifen to block that hormone as it was thought to be 'feeding' the BC; I have, since, had my ovaries removed so even less chance of oestrogen going to any future BC; but apparently fatty deposits can produce oestrogen, so I've tried to lose as much weight as I can - 15kgs so far - with only a few to go). Meantime, after my mastectomy, I had my drains in for 2 weeks. Every surgeon is different - mine has a slight obsession with drains - but I reckon, even though it was uncomfortable and bloody itchy at the drainage site, better out than in....so all that fluid that keeps draining would be inside you otherwise. (Although, there is some debate that for some people drain tubes can actually irritate the wound, and thus cause more drainage...but I trust my surgeon and did exactly what he told me, with excellent results in the end.)

Good luck, thinking of you

Nikki xxxx

primek

Yes it's amazing the difference with drains. RAH had a strict policy, out in 7 days regardless of drainage as the risk of introducing infection is not worth leaving them in.