Elizabeth06

Hi,

An ILC lady here as well, heading into 5 yrs past diagnosis! 

My first MRI (before surgery, since my Dr. wanted to know what to expect, lobular can be sneaky) stated "there is no definite axillary andenopathy", in other words my nodes appeared not to be swollen and possibly free of cancer.

Prior to surgery my Dr. stated there was a 30% chance of the nodes being affected even though she couldn't feel them, since my tumor was located on the outer left quadrant of my breast a more likely place to spread to the lymph nodes, according to research at that time.

Ultimately I was node negative, so in my case the MRI was accurate.

Five years in the BC world of diagnosis & treatments is a long, long time in this fast moving world of ours......there are tons of advances (Oncotype testing, digital mamms, targeted therapies, extended AI's etc., etc.) that were not available in the past, and many of us are doing fine today.

I now alternate yearly between mammograms and MRIs, and all is okay.

Best wishes!

Hi,

Please post your question in the Hormal Therapy, before during and after section, (under the Diagnosed with Breast Cancer: Tests, Treatments and Side Effects Forum).  This is a question that others have asked, and I'm sure you'll get more responses.  However, I totally relate to your mother's concerns.....I was diagnosed in 2003 and have been taking Arimidex since Jan 2004.  I've fortunately had few side effects and am panicky about ending my "safety net" to prevent a recurrence.

I've heard of some oncs prescribing an AI past the 5 year "cut off"....I need to find one of them!!  My onc was aware at my last visit in Nov. of the trials you've mentioned, and he said quite firmly when the final studies were in, he would follow whatever the recommendations were, even if it meant ending my prescription for Arimidex.

Matic,

With time constraints, I'm not able to check info on bc.org as much as before, but whenever I can it's always such a pleasure to read your posts!

 I'm glad your Mom is doing well and I wanted to include a link from the recent San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium which ran from Dec. 13^th to Dec. 17^th of this year regarding the Oncotype DX test for node positive.

I've had the same thoughts as you in regards to your Mom, since I've already under gone chemo, what would be the purpose of the test......however I would still like to know what my actual "recurrence" score really was.  If I took chemo needlessly in the past, well nothing can change that, what's done is done.  But curiosity has the best of me and I still would like to know more about the fate of my diagnosis acccording to the Oncotype guidelines.

There is much research on the molecular types of BC, and I'll forward the current info on the Luminal-A/Normal-Like categories that most "classical" ILC's seem to fall into.

http://www.abstracts2view.com/sabcs/view.php?nu=SABCS07L_630

(edited this post so the link would appear)

Rocky and His Friends - (Rocky & Bullwinkle, Boris & Natasha etc.)

A big "giant step" back in time...Romper Room, as another poster mentioned. Local stations could have their own "Miss so & so" as a hostess for the show.  When I was little, I actually thought the magic mirror could see me through the TV screen.

http://www.tvacres.com/props_mirrors_romper.htm

http://www.tvparty.com/lostromper3.html

Hi,

I've had 3 separate breast MRI's over the last 4 years, and will continue to do so indefinitely since I was diagnosed with ILC (a very difficult tumor to image on a mammogram).

The MRI was an easy test that took about 20-30 min.  Mammograms are much quicker, but MRI's are more comfortable (no boob squishing).

I don't think your family history would make a difference to the tech's doing the exam, just fill out the intake form accurately for reference.  MRI's are extremely detailed and will pick up most abnormalities, whether a family history is listed on a chart or not.

Best wishes.

Hi Grandma,

Those of us diagnosed with Lobular can understand your questions....however you are a relative "newbie" here and your concerns regarding Matic are understandable, yet at the same time not completely accurate.

He is a student in the field of Oncology & was guided to study Lobular cancer primarily because of his mother's experience with ILC & the lack of available research/info on the classical type of ILC she was diagnosed with.  There is very little published about this rare and very special tumor & we all appreciate Matic's input regarding Lobular. Matic is not from the US...my Dr's are and they know next to nothing about Lobular (with their admittance).

I work in a University Library in the US, and have access to many medical databases.  In my spare time I do research on Lobular. I can report the current info, however Matic has hands on experience regarding the very latest research and he's more than willing  to share.

Please, let ILC ladies be grateful for Matic's willing to post what he's learned in his oncology studies about our rare and special type of breast cancer. His knowledge can only benefit us. I hope we don't lose him because of your comments.

Hi,

Nicki is correct.....you need to post your question on the "Recurrence and Metastatic Disease" forum.  I'm sure you'll receive lots of very helpful info from those who are undergoing a similar circumstance.

TimTam,

I agree, the search feature gives me just 58 hits when I type in Lobular, a rare, however more common "special type" cancer. Not long ago I received "many pages" of results.

I hope this glitch can be resolved. I stumbled upon this site nearly 4 years ago (no google involved). Marisa Weiss, founder of bc.org was a guest speaker at a breast cancer symposium I attended & I followed the link provided in her "handout".  I was immediately impressed, and have been here ever since.

I'm aware the population on the boards has dramatically increased over the past few years, (traffic can be very expensive) & I realize a more economical way (website) must be in place to support the increase.

Hope all can be resolved to meet specifix needs...an easy to navigate wesite that is cost effective for bc.org.

Please relax....nash has given you some good advice.  Try to have the Oncotype DX test.  This procedure was not available 4 yrs ago (YES...4 YEARS AGO!!) when I was diagnosed with a node negative, highly ER+, clear margin tumor, however my cancer was a classic lobular, not a mixed tumor.  The Oncotype will give you very specific details regarding "your" situation, and an accurate recurrence score.

My tumor was over 1 cm, so I was advised to take chemo.  That was the "RULE" back then.  I survived chemo, and I'm doing fine today.

Please feel to PM if you have questions.

Best wishes!

This is kind of scary.....I was NOT logged into bc.org (just did so now to post) and when I did a google search earlier on breast cancer questions, my registration was the first on the "hit list".  Can moderators do anything for this personal info NOT to appear on google?

Thanks

PS 

I submitted the url which appeared on google. When I tried to confim the link I immediatley had to edit and remove the it....way too much info appeared including my personal email address.