my baby sister has breast cancer

Specialties Oncology

Published

:crying2: :crying2: :crying2:

i found out this afternoon my younger sister has been diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma. over the past year she had been c/o cyclical nipple pain, had a mammogram and came back negative. she went for a second mammogram this past thursday because a lump was now palpable. they ordered a stat ultrasound and did find a 3 cm mass. from what i understand, ductal carcinoma is typically in situ....this one has already invaded her breast nodules...they did 7 core biopsies this past thursday. she has an appointment this monday with her surgeon/oncologist. she was asking me so many questions today; i did not share with her anything specific and tried to be vague. i want her to talk with the surgeon first. the surgeon and her md even called her at home this morning. she also told me during the biopsies and ultra sound, she was surrounded by md, surgeon, social services; she perceived it to be getting all this attention. now, she is a commissioner in a big city here so i told her it was because of who she is that she was getting all this attention. she told me that only her md knows that she's commissioner. from what i'm reading, the prognosis is not good. does anyone here have any input.....i want to know everything and nothing but the truth. please.

leslie

Specializes in Endocrinology.

Leslie,

Sorry to hear about your sister. I have a younger sister that I'm very close with and she had a canerous nodule removed from her thyroid. It made me think of what I would have done if I lost her. She's my best friend. I'll pray for the both of you and your family to stay strong and hopeful. God already has a plan for her and I pray that she accepts it no matter what the outcome is.

Leslie,

I am combining my hugs to you with all of the others you've recieved here! I fear I am losing my "daddy" to his battle with cancer right now. I have tried to remain very positive, supportive, and loving...but I can no longer ignore the fear that is creeping in.

My husband and I will pray especially for you and your family tonight. I hope you find what information you need to find any comfort, but please remember Him and the comfort you may find in Him.

I am sorry I do not have any other information, and can only offer my loving thoughts. Take care...

sincere and deeply heartfelt appreciation to all your prayers. being a nurse, i've been researching lisa's dx. one site states "invasive ductal carcinoma often metastasizes to the axillary lymph nodes and is associated with a relatively poor prognosis compared with other types of breast cancer...." and it tells about the likely sites of metastasis. another site's prognosis was "30% have a 5 year survival rate". i am in deep shock and at loss for words. as another poster stated, God has a plan. if you don't mind, i will keep you updated. dh isn't being very supportive right now.

Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

((((((Leslie))))))

I'm sorry about this news. I hope and pray that things are not as bad as they must be looking to you right now. You and your sister will be in my thoughts and prayers tonight. :kiss :sniff:

... being a nurse, i've been researching lisa's dx...

...as another poster stated, God has a plan....

I know about feeling the need to have to research this, understand it, know it, wrap your whole brain around it...but it is not going to make you feel better. The way I see it, is even if you found information stating a very very good prognosis and an extremely low fatality rate...you would still focus right now on the smallest percentage of fataility...because you love sissy so much. It is our nature as nurses to "need to know" it all, but it is our nature as women, mothers, daughters, and sisters to worry about the worst.

DON'T do that, try to listen to those words...God has a plan. Keep us up to date of what is going on.

Oh, and I hope dh can give you the support you need right now...xoxo

Leslie,

So sorry to hear your news.

((((((((((((((((((((((hugs)))))))))))))))))))) to you and your family.

Ductal breast cancer is not that uncommon. Depends on how quickly it is found and treated. One of my best friends as well as my brother-in-law's siter had it and have had good outcomes. Some of the newer treatments for this is chemo-therapy first then surgery once the mass is smaller.Depends on how invasive that it is...........

Wish I had better news for you.......................please keep us posted.... :balloons:

i'm sorry suzanne, i just found your post. i understand that ductal carcinoma usually has a favorable outcome because it is in situ. my sister's is IDC, invasive ductal carcinoma. it seems to be growing like wild fire. in april she didn't feel anything in her breast, nor did her doctor. 2 months later it is extremely palpable. i've been reading and this particular type of cancer does not have a good outcome. but i've decided that i have read enough. we'll have to take it one treatment, one appointment and one day at a time. right now i feel like i'm going in slow motion and everything is surreal. my sister is the commissioner of public works in a big city here and although she has an appt. with her surgeon/oncologist on monday at 3pm, she still plans on going to the council meeting on monday noc. now maybe i'm reading into this too much but she's been complaining of periaureolar pain. now with inflammatory breast cancer being the worst there is, do you think her pain sounds "inflammatory" in nature? i've looked at diagrams/pics and if a mass is literally crammed in a mammary duct, i imagine that would be painful. i really don't know. thank you for listening.

leslie

Leslie........please, please, please don't beat yourself up assuming the worst....we all do this I know and it's so hard not to. Sweets, I'm sending you an email....be looking for it! Love you girlie......................

Specializes in MS Home Health.

My sister in law had that type of cancer with node in volvement. That was 4 years ago..................................She is doing okay now after chemo/radiation/and tamoxifen/breast reduction/lumpectomies.

I am truely sorry she has to go through this and hugs to you for standing beside her to hold her up.

renerian

Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

Sorry to hear this Leslie. Take care.

Specializes in cardiac, diabetes, OB/GYN.

So sorry for this sadness for you and your family. Has there been a metastasis? I thought in situ ( as with people I know) had a decent prognosis. IN any case, please let us know how she AND you, are doing..Many hugs and prayers your way....{{{{}}}

Specializes in cardiac, diabetes, OB/GYN.

Again, I am so very sorry for all that your family is going through. Please forgive me if this seems unkind but I just returned from a wonderful seminar given by a world reknowned Zen Teacher based in New Mexico at a retreat. Their specialty is to provide information, comfort, support and to help family and caretakers care for people diagnosed with terminal illness. I understand and hope that is a premature thing for your sister but, they also are wonderful to talk with. At that seminar, given by Rochis Joan Halifax, a buddhist priest and woman in her mid sixties who founded the center, it was apparent that this is a wonderful group of people. Bear in mind that I am Christian saying this. She had an amazing sense of humor and compassion. I hope to someday attend one of their retreats. In the meantime she did say that if you contact them and have a member who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and has no medical need for intervention ( such as treatments and the like), one could go and stay with them as their guest for three weeks. They also have various retreats and programs for family members, hospice people, caregivers, etc. I cannot adequately tell you how impressed I was with the program and I am by nature, a skeptic.

Please investigate their web site, and their email is [email protected]

Their address is

UPAYA ZEN CENTER

1404 Cerro Gordo Road,

Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501

phone 505-986-8518

fax505-986-8528

For anyone whose facility can get this wonderful group to speak, it was, by far, the most informative and amazing program..We were all touched, and there were at least a thousand people there, nurses, doctors, ems, social workers, terminal people and their families.

The Rochi(Joan Halifax) who founded the center in 1990 is originally from Savannah Georgia, and told us that her grandmother was a village woman who helped the people of the community with birth and death. When her grandmother died, she was at a hospital and not at home as she would have preferred. At that time, Ms. Halifax promised to do all she could to promote caring for the dying. She makes trips to Tibet and world wide...I hope this is helpful if you need it....http://www.upaya.org

Specializes in RETIRED Cath Lab/Cardiology/Radiology.

Leslie, I can't help but think of you and your sis and your family every day, several times a day, and prayers go out then too. Love, D

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