We Can Beat This

The technical diagnosis of my biopsy is Grade II infiltrating ductal carcinoma with a Bloom-Richardson total grading score of 6 (tubules 2, muclei 2 mitoses 2). There is focal ductal carcinoma in situ of high nuclear grade with focal central comedonecrosis and lypmh-vascular invasion at the periphery of the tumor. Results on the the paraffin block submitted for receptor panel essay shows I am ER positive and and Her2 negative.

Being the extremely nosy sort and wanting to know as much as I can, I have been doing research on the internet so that I can translate the diagnosis into lay terms. That it is high grade means it is an aggressive form of breast cancer. The term lymph-vascular invasion indicates it has spread, at least to some degree, into my lymphatic system. We won't know if lymph nodes are affected until they do surgery and further tests. ER positive means the cancer is dependent on estrogen and when I figure out what Her2 negative means I'll give it a mention.

What is certain is that I will be undergoing surgery for either removal of the lump or of the entire breast; I have a lot of decisions facing me but I am told I have time to do my research and ask questions. This seems such a daunting task and I am ever so grateful I have someone near and dear to me to help me cope.