Topic: mass grew so fast!

I went for my semiannual gyn exam in early December and my dr did a manual exam, didn't feel anything out of the ordinary, and gave me a script for my regular screening mammo. I waited until after the holidays to make the appt. and right after I did, I felt a thicknening over my nipple and something firmer under that righ tbehind the nipple.

The process of biopsying it took a month because they went from screening mammo to ultrasound and diagnostic mammo, and finally suggested it be biopsied, which needed another script. Every thing took a week to do or wait for results or an appt.

The biopsy in February diagnosed it as IDC and measured it at 3.4 cm. Moving forward, I had a PET scan in March just before starting neoadjuvant chemo which measured it at 6.4 cm. Either it had almost doubled in size in a month, or the ultrasound measurement was way off. 

Aggressive breast cancer is usually found in younger patients, but I guess my "young at heart" attitude bought me more touble than I wanted. The upside is that this cancer seems to be very responsive to the chemo. I've had three doses and the tumor has virtually disappeared. An MRI I had last week did not find it visible anymore. Still, I'm having surgery to remove what tissue is left to forestall a recurrence.

Hi Gamma,

As AnnW says above, your story sounds a lot like mine. If you want to go check out the triple negative board, you'll find tales galore of women whose lumps grew overnight, taking them (and their doctors!) completely by surprise.

Mine was misdiagnosed as a benign condition at Christmas, and it wasn't until I developed a very swollen and painful lymph node in my armpit that I grew alarmed enough to fly home for a second opinion. It was cancer, and I'm now undergoing chemotherapy to shrink the tumor and disarm any floating cancer cells in the lymphatic and circulatory systems.

The bottom line is that although one can wait a bit for a definite diagnosis and the beginning of treatment, the quicker one starts chemo (if that's what your medical team decides to do first), the better it is. I imagine they'll either start you on chemo or schedule surgery the moment the MRI results are in. If you can get your doctor to commit to a course of action as soon as he's got your results in hand, you should be fine with this timeline. However, don't let them jerk you around beyond the end of the month.

Keep us posted; we all care. If there's anything else we can do, just ask.

Love,

Annie

PS: Great big camel smooches to AnnW!

Hi Maggie and Gramma, welcome to this site.  There are wonderful women here who will help you on this journey.  Keep in mind that the large majority of us will be just fine.  I am 9 years post treatment and okay.  Chances are excellent, you will both be okay too. Chemo first is not unusual, it shrinks the tumor and also lets them know what combo of drugs works best for your particular case.

Post often, we are your new best friends!

Gentle hugs, Shirlann

Hi Maggie and Gramma,

Just checking in to see how you're both doing while I'm between packing boxes and paying overdue bills here in North Africa. We'll be out of here Wednesday; whew!

Maggie, I'm glad to hear you've informed your family, and that you're being surrounded by lots of support and love. Even so, what you say about our site here is true. What's especially good about BC.org is that we not only get support, encouragement, and tons of affection from one another, but also the very best in advice and practical tips on everything from how to deal with treatment to which options to choose. We have some very knowledgeable women who post here frequently, people who have done extensive research on every possible topic connected to breast cancer, and who are willing to share what they've learned with the rest of us.

You are safe among us, and we really care about you.

Love,

Annie Camel Feet

Hi Julie,

I don't think anything was missed. I'm convinced these monsters really do grow overnight. One day they're not there; the next day they have taken over your boob. You'll notice that the triple negative women whose cancers were diagnosed early were all diagnosed by a stroke of incredible luck.

Annie Triple Camel

Hello sweetie, I went through a mass growing really fast also, I was planning my wedding to my loving husband and I felt a lump one morning while showering, call fiancee at the time he came home and when he and I felt it again we agreed it came up really fast for when making love he didn,t feel it either. I has a L mastectomy, but the good news is i,m 15 yrs this December cancer free Praise the Lord, pray to God and command the cancer to leave your body in Jesus name as i did, God will see U through if U believe and call on HIM, stay Positive, and always have HOPE. I will pray for U and for us all. msphil

Well this has been a crazy week and weekend. We lost a friend with a heart attack and now a brother in law also heart. We had a grandchild stranded in a town a ways away with a blow out on our trailer no spare. He called after midnight and finally got my son there to help the next day but the grandson had an asthma attack and had to go to the hospital emergency because the pharmacy would not fill his meds since he had never gotten them in that town. He is better and I have to go get his meds filled today. I swear if it is not one thing is another around here. I still have not told the kids because of another grandson's graduation this Thursday and after that I will. I just won't know much until I have the MRI and I want to know some course of action so they will feel like we are in control. My daughter is in the process of building a house and that has taken them all winter to get started but at least are making some progress. I worry about her handling it most because she has so much going on in her life. Also the only girl of the family so the doc said she needed to be on the watch for it too. I keep thinking what could have caused this to come so fast. Is it my microwave? It is old or is it something else. I do feel better knowing I am not the only one whose came up so fast. I guess I just thought mine was not normal. I am ready to get this started for sure. No one in my family has had cancer but now my brother has had throat/tongue cancer and is cancer free now but still having side effects from radiation. I will certainly keep posting because I need all of your info about this.

gramma23

Hi gramma23- I'm so sorry you are going through this. What a mess!

Most (about 70%) of women who get breast cancer have *no* obvious reasons to get breast cancer (besides being a woman).

I know you are in shock, and want to find a reason why this happened to you. Many women here have lead very healthy lives, yet get breast cancer.

Many women go through shock when they are first diagnosed.


If you are really interested in microwaves or other environmental factors, here are some links on this site. http://www.breastcancer.org/risk/environmental/ask_expert/2005_08/index.jsp

Heating plastics may be an issue, but there is NO human data. The vast majority of people in
the US have eaten food microwaved in plastic, and not all of these people have breast cancer. But we do not know the risk data.

http://med.stanford.edu/news_releases/2008/april/feldman.html http://www.breastcancer.org/risk/environmental/ask_expert/2005_08/question_15.jsp

You will have cyber companions all the way through this journey.