How fast can the tumor grow?

belle · 05-07-2010, 06:18 AM

Dear Her2 sisters,

I've been lurking mostly here for the last few years but have always followed and shared our journey.

My mom had her last mammography screening in January with no signs of any disease. Now after about 3 months she felt a lump in her other breast. The drs at our home country made an ultrasound and found something in her breast and a few lymphnodes on the side of her operated breast.

She has booked flight tickets to come to me to Europe and is coming in a week from today.

Can tumor grow this fast in 3 months? She doesn't want to listen to my urges to come earlier than a week, as we may have to wait for the surgery date as well, which also takes time. Time may be working against us. Does 1 week make a big difference?

Yours,
belle

Nguyen · 05-07-2010, 11:30 AM

I can't remember the source at the moment, though I read that the doubling time can be as little as 6 weeks.

Nguyen

CourtneyL · 05-07-2010, 11:37 AM

Yes, unfortunately HER2-positive tumors are capable of growing very fast as they are a more aggressive type of cancer. In July 2007 when I went in for my routine GYNO appointment, I got the all clear. By September - just TWO MONTHS later - I had a lump. Although they didn't figure out it has metastasized until April 2008, I know it metastasized as early as December 2007 when I felt rib and hip pain.

belle · 05-07-2010, 11:56 AM

Courtney and Nguyen, thank you for your answers.

I still hope that it is something benign as ultrasound cannot tell much... but the worse outcome is also possible. Mom's face has been swollen last days, which also occurred during her first diagnosis in 2007. That it could spread to lymphnodes in such a short time, it makes things more scary.

belle · 05-07-2010, 01:32 PM

Courtney,

when you had hip and rib pain in December, could they not detect anything in scans?

Sometimes things get just out of our control, no matter how hard we try. I still have hard time accepting this reality.

CourtneyL · 05-07-2010, 01:40 PM

I wasn't scanned until April 2008 - I saw a series of very incompetent doctors sadly. The lump was dismissed as "dense tissue" so I had no reason to think that the rib and hip pain were anything big. I had a cough at the same time so I though maybe I had just overworked the ribcage muscles. But things got much worse over time, I switched docs and finally got a diagnosis and proper treatment.

It is a harsh reality to accept - that life can change in an instant. But being HER2 positive is no longer a death sentence. We can overcome. So many of the ladies on this website are doing really well and dancing with NED (no evidence of disease). I hope the same will be true for your Mom!

belle · 05-07-2010, 02:01 PM

Thank you, Courtney. I hope so, too.

We also missed out several opportunities this time, partly due to incompetence of the drs, unfortunately. Mom was here in early April for her routine 4 months checkup and the Dr who usually receives us turned out to be on sick leave. There was a young man substituting the sick Dr. He palpated mom's breasts and armpits, and at that time I did notice that he had a moment of doubt when going through her armpits. His total attitude was shallow, just said everything is fine, we can go. We should have came back to the initial Dr. once again when she was back from her sick leave. There are other 2-3 missed events that I'd rather not ramble about now. Will fight with what we've got then..

Wishing you all the best,
belle

v-ness · 05-08-2010, 04:40 PM

hi belle, mine grew in 5 months. i had nothing, and then had a 1.8 cm tumor and because it was a tumor near the surface of the skin, i am quite positive i had not missed it beforehand, and neither did the mammogram or gynecologist. good luck to your mom. valerie

tricia keegan · 05-08-2010, 04:44 PM

Hi Belle,

I keep reading that cancer is usually growing for years in the breast, but was used to breast exams every other day and mine seemed to grow within weeks!!

I also am in Europe, and send my best wishes to your Mom! xx

belle · 05-08-2010, 11:12 PM

Valerie, Tricia,

Thank you for sharing your experiences. So, everyone is different. Tricia, I'm in Germany.

I just talked to mom, she will try to get the earliest ticket next week.

Unfortunately, the ultrasound showed mets to her lymphnodes on her left (unoperated) breast side, collarbone and I think also in the neck area.

Her left breast looks lobular invasive this time.

She's been coughing and having shortness of breath for about 3-4 weeks. The ultrasound showed a pleural effusion around her right lung.

Can pleural effusion be malignant?

I'm counting seconds till she comes finally to me.

Lani · 05-08-2010, 11:36 PM

the part of the pathology report called Ki67 is a measure of how fast a tumor is growing. It varies, even among her2+ tumors.

A Ki-67 of 50% means half of all cells visible when looking at the microscopic slide are in the process of dividing. Ki-67 is usually considered positive whe more then 2 or 3 per cent if I remember correctly.

Ki-67 of the removed tumor can be influenced by which phase of the menstrual cycle the woman is in when the biopsy is taken ie it is higher during certain phases of the menstrual cycle

Hope this helps

belle · 05-08-2010, 11:40 PM

Thanks, Lani. When operated 3 years ago, mom's bc was grade 2. From the ultrasound report she got at home, my fear is that this time it may be more aggressive if in 2-3 months it became lobular and spread to lymphnodes.

Mom is post-menopausal, 60 years old.