This is the third in a series of blog posts about my experiences as a cancer patient and survivor. Before we begin, I want to be clear that all opinions expressed here are my own. Nothing that I say in these posts should be taken as medical advice. If you have any questions or concerns, you need to reach out to a licensed medical professional immediately.
So, I “knew” I had cancer the second I found the lump, but it wasn’t until my June 30 post-biopsy appointment that I KNEW. Today, I want to share with you some of the things I learned that day, both at the doctor’s office and through my own tearful research afterward.
MANY DIFFERENT TYPES
Before I was diagnosed, cancer was cancer. I knew you could get it in different places in your body, but I just assumed all cancer was essentially the same. I was super wrong. There are multiple types, kinds, and stages. So, let’s break it down.
The primary way most of us think of cancer is by stage (so, essentially, how invasive is your cancer). Cancer is staged from stage 0 to 4, and the severity has to do with the spread. In the case of breast cancer, a stage 0 tumor is tiny and located inside the duct. It has not really grown or spread. If you hear someone say they have DCIS, that’s what this is (ductal carcinoma in situ).
Stage 1 is sometimes broken into A and B, but we have progressed to invasive cancers at this point (IBC, or invasive breast cancer–although I’ve also seen IBC used for inflammatory breast cancer, depending on the organization). These are tumors are still small, but have grown beyond the perimeter of that duct and are moving further into your healthy tissue. Stage 1 is also called “early stage” cancer.
Stage 2 and 3 tumors are larger. At this point, they may have spread to the lymph nodes. That can be concerning because the lymph system is your body’s trash can—once the cancer is in your lymph nodes, it’s got a lot more access to other parts of your body. At this point, there’s more reason to worry.
Stage 4 is the final stage, and it’s the really scary one. Stage 4 tumors are mean. They’re aggressive. And they are metastatic. That means the cancer has metastasized, or spread, to other parts of your body. This cancer is called MBC. It’s important to note that while MBC can be TREATED, it cannot be CURED. (And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why early detection is critical). Most MBC patients have a life expectancy of about three years. Some patients are fortunate to live beyond that—but many don’t. MBC is a killer.
Aside from the stages themselves, breast cancers are also classified by what I call their snack food: which hormones or proteins do they prey on?
When you get your biopsy back, the report breaks it down for you. What percentage of each do you have? Your cancer might prefer estrogen, progesterone, or the protein HER2/neu. Usually, it’s a combination of those. Some people are triple positive (they have all three), and some are triple-negative. Triple-negative is rare (I think I read 15%), and it’s aggressive and hard to treat. There are a few other very rare types, but I won’t go into that here.
In my case, I was 100% HER2/neu positive, which meant I was a candidate for a relatively new targeted therapy. Herceptin and Perjeta have only been around for around 20 years. Since their arrival, survival rates for women with cancers like mine have been dramatically improved. I was estrogen negative, and only faintly progesterone positive.
I was lucky. My tumors were small, my cancer was caught early, and drugs existed to target my exact tumor.
Many women (and men—because men do get it too) are not that fortunate.
I urge you to pay more attention to your body. Get regular physicals. Do the self-exams you should, and look at your skin, hair, and nails closely on the regular. Your body will tell you when something is wrong if you will listen.
For more information on the things I have discussed here:
* Cancer.net cancer stages: Stages of Cancer | Cancer.Net
* American Cancer Society: Types of Breast Cancer | Different Breast Cancer Types
* National Breast Cancer Center: Types of Breast Cancer – National Breast Cancer Foundation (this link has information about all of the types, including inflammatory and lobular cancers, which I didn’t discuss)
If you have any concerns, call your doctor.
Proverbs 18:15
An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.