Dumb Question

[Liz J.]

Hi all,

I have a question that probably does not have an answer, but I must ask it. Especially as I am a little (not myself) right now as tomorrow I will receive my last scheduled Herceptin. Anyhow, I have read over and over again that HER2 is a very fast growing cancer. I am trying to figure this out. I was mammogramed from the time I was about 31 as I was told I had cystic breasts. No family history and not to be graphic they were mosquito bites until I was about 42 hit menopause and gained about 30 pounds. All of a sudden I developed. My point being this. No mammo's picked up the tumor. Although in 2003 I had a biopsy for something they said was not anything. I found this tumor, by the Grace of God while showering. I would swear there was nothing there the day before. I was not doing an exam, just taking a shower. My last mammo tech told me that I must have had this for years if I was able to feel it. This is not the first time I have heard these words. Does anyone have any idea how fast this grows or is it true that once you can feel it yourself it has been there for so long? The tumor was 1.5 cm. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Liz J.

[Lani]

one of the indications of how fast your tumor was growing was the ki-67 number in your pathology report. It is a measure of proliferation and indicates what percentage of cells are undergoing cell division in your tumor sample when examined by a pathologist.The higher the number(%) the faster your tumor grew.

When your tumor was removed, was there nearby some DCIS. If so, and with your history of not having had the tumor be visible before, you might be able to convince your doctor to get MRIs instead of mammograms.

They are now felt to be indicated in "high risk" patients and since your mammograms tend to be hard to read, perhaps that makes you one--you can perhaps try to argue that. Unfortunately not all institutions have enough experience with breast MRIs to be able to tell post-op change from recurrent tumor, so see if you can find an institution with a lot of experience doing and reading them.

Also when your tumor removed were you premenopausal? If so, your ki67 may have been temporarily high due to the phase of the menstrual cycle you were in at the time.

All of these are just food for thought.

Hope this helps!

[Becky]

I had mammos from age 35 (baseline) but I have so many benign calcifications that they wanted me to get one every year. It was 8 months since my last mammo when I found my tumor (also in the shower) and it was 1.9cm. I did not have a Ki67 done but I did have a mitotic score of 1 (which is low - slow) but who knows. Mine was about 25% DCIS. My tumor was not associated with calcifications but the DCIS did have clustered microcalcifications.


I hope you are doing well Liz. My last Herceptin was Sept 29 (and I got an extra 5) so I was at that cancer center a long time. It is a weird day to get your last one but I think you will get over it quickly. On Jan 5 I went for my first 3 month check up and since I am almost 2.5 yrs out, my next appointment is in 4 months. It felt strange to go back. I got used to not going pretty quickly. The weirdest day is when you should go for your next treatment but there is no next treatment. After that, you don't think about it too much.

Hugs to you

[Bev]

Liz,

I had a similiar experience. I found my lump showering 5 mos after a routine mammo. Ultrasound, MRI, etc showed it to be 1cm. A month later at surgery, it was 3cm.

But they do say they take 6 to 8 years to grow. I'm reserving judgement on this one. I do think it's faster than 6 -8 years.

But for now, I'm OK with finishing H. Hope that 1 year will takecare of it. BB

[Chelee]

I too have a hard time believing it takes 6 to 8 years to grow. I would swear on anything mine showed up over night. Not literally...but you know what I mean. I was shocked when I found mine. I had my mammo's and I do self exams...it showed up so fast its ridiculous. (But they say otherwise.)

Chelee

[Brenda_D]

I'm still new to all of this, but I also had a rapid growth tumor.

I think when they say it takes years to develope, they are referring to normal slower growing tumors.

I had a mammo a year ago (first mammo) and it showed an area of dense tissue. I had a US a week later and they couldn't find it on US. That was on the outside of the right breast.
They had me come back for a 6 month diagnostic follow up and that mammo was "clear" and I got the little postcard saying it was "normal". I felt relieved.
In Nov. I got the letter for my 6 month diagnostic follow up and before I made the appointment, I found a large lump in that same breast, but on the inner side, not the outside where they saw the dense tissue.
I called the doc, got the appt. for the mammo and US. Then the biopsy. It was a rapid growth IDC. Ki-67 came back as 70%. My doc and the radiologist went over the previous mammo with a "fine tooth comb" and saw no sign of anything in that breast as of 6 months ago.
I had a lumpectomy with axillary node removal. The tumor itself was 3.7 cm.
So, yes, tumors can and do grow rapidly.
I did everything "right". I did my mammos, and follow ups, and still ended up with a large invasive tumor, that has spread to inner mammary node chain and bone (according to Pet/Ct scan).
I'm not trying to scare anyone, but it can and does happen, and faster than most medical professionals realize.

[Hopeful]

My understanding is that bc tumors do not grow an an even rate; there is something called the "Gompertzian Growth Curve" that describes periods of slow and rapid growth. Here is a link to an article that discusses (in a medical malpractice context) bc tumor growth: http://www.lectlaw.com/filesh/tabtumo.htm


Hopeful