Test Result - 1274761

Hi tessang,

Welcome to GRACE. The information you've provided isn't really enough to say much about what's going on here, except to say that the nodes tested do not show cancer cells and to provide a definition of Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, in the words of GRACE's Dr. Cianfrocca:

"This is the most common type of breast cancer and it starts in the duct. Unlike DCIS, however, the cancer cells break through the wall of the duct and invade the other tissues of the breast. Once the cancer cells do this, they can spread to the lymph nodes and bloodstream, as well as other parts of the body." - http://cancergrace.org/breast-cancer/2011/09/06/breast-cancer-101/

It would probably be helpful to read Dr. Cianfrocca's referenced post, Breast Cancer 101, which should provide a good base of knowledge from which other questions may develop. As you'll see from that post, there are many factors which play a role in the determination of an appropriate treatment plan.

JimC
Forum moderator

Hi tessang,

Although detailed analysis of test and scan reports is beyond the scope of this site (please see paragraph 5 in the Forum Guidelines), I can say that the report indicates that the cancer is what is known as "triple negative" breast cancer, in that the cancer cells tested negative for estrogen, progesterone and HER2 receptors. As a result, the targeted therapies for receptor-positive patients are not effective, so chemotherapy following surgery tends to be the appropriate treatment.

You can find an excellent resource on triple negative breast cancer here, which includes a discussion of chemotherapy options (page 9).

Based on the Forum Guidelines, I am deleting the pathology report you have posted.

Good luck with the next phase of treatment.

JimC
Forum moderator