Invasive ductal carcinoma

[shubhal]

Hi my mother has been diagnosed with grade 3 invasive ductal carcinoma, she is 60 yrs old and has triple negative in ER, PR and HER, also there is 1/8 lymph node metastasis, what will be the further treatment as mastectomy has been done, what medicine should be given for chemotherapy and will radiotherapy also done?? whats the prognosis??

[babyp1064]

I am so sorry to hear about your mother. I was diagnosed with the same type of breast cancer as your mother, also triple negative, but no metastasis. I  opted for a bilateral mastectomy last June and in August of last year, I began chemo, which I did 5 months of, since the cancer was the very aggresive type. I went through 2 different chemos, the first one was once every three weeks of 2 chemo drugs at the same time; one intravenously and the other had to be pushed from syringes into me because it was so potent. Then, after 4 cycles of that, I was put on 12 weekly treatments of taxol. I'm sure you've heard that chemo is not easy but your mother will definitely make it through it. Just make sure she follows her doctors every order and she will be ok. I didn't have to have any radiation but I had no positive lymph nodes either so I'm not sure if your mom will have to have radiation or not. The oncologists will decide the best treatment for her, based on all of the facts. I'm sure she will be just fine and I will be praying for her. I thought I would never make it through my five months of chemo but I did and your mom will too! Best of luck to your family!

[bluebutterfly2222]

Hi,

I am sorry to hear your mother has been diagnoed with invasive ductal carcinoma.

You did not mention the size of her tumor or the stage of her disease, but given the type of her BC (TNBC), the aggressiveness of the cancer calls (grade 3), and the finding of lymph node involvement, I would say chemotherapy will certainly be recommended for her.

The type of chemo, and additional tx recommendations (including radiation) would be entirely up to her treating physicians, who will have available all the details of her specific case, including her medical history,  and all of her test results. They would also be in the best position to make any comments as to the prognosis, should they choose to do so. (Many doctors choose not to, because statistics are based on averages from large populations, over past periods of years, and have little meaning when it comes down to  individual cases. Also, many doctors have had the experience of cases turning out much different than they expected and/or predicted.)

Best wishes to both you and your mother,
bluebutterfly