Stage 1 Breast Cancer Successfully Treated

My surgeon kept saying how young I was (46) and how tiny my tumor was (1 cm) and what a good thing it was that we caught it early. I had just gotten my breast biopsy report, and he could see how scared I felt, so he was being encouraging. My diagnosis was Stage 1 breast cancer, a low-grade, slow-moving tumor that seemed to have stayed all in one place. I didn't feel so young and at that point any tumor felt huge - but the thought of having a very early stage of breast cancer did help me calm down. We discussed a lumpectomy, which was to be followed by 6 weeks of radiation, and 5 years of Tamoxifen. I was thinking, "Cancer in six weeks! Beat that! Let's just get this done!" That was 10 years ago, and I'm still here. Treatments have changed and improved, as have survival rates. Early stage breast cancer can be survived, and the earlier the better!

Once you've been diagnosed with breast cancer, you start learning so much about the world of oncology. New terms get thrown at you - sometimes with explanations, sometimes not - and many decisions await you. Staging of your tumor is just one facet of your comprehensive diagnosis, but it's an important one. The stage of your cancer affects your options for surgery and other treatments. The bottom line on tumor staging is this: the smaller the number, the less rigorous the treatments. That makes it well worth your while to find it early, deal with it promptly, and get the best treatment for your particular case. Often, getting a second opinion is helpful, as different oncologists may suggest different means of treatments, or even a clinical trial. With early stage breast cancer, there may not be a big rush to begin treatments, so weigh your options before you commit to any life-changing plans.

In my case, my lumpectomy revealed a larger tumor with invasive cells in the surgical margins, so back I went for a mastectomy. Breast-conserving surgery didn't work in my case, but I did find a good plastic surgeon who did my reconstruction. I was finally diagnosed with Stage 2 - the tumor was larger than we thought and the invasive cells pushed me into a higher stage. My daydream of having just 6 weeks of cancer did not materialize, and I went on to take almost a full year of surgeries and chemo. That's how much difference there can be between stages of breast cancer. So when I say, "Don't skip your breast self exam!" I really mean it. Catch it early and get it over with, if at all possible.

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Source: http://breastcancer.about.com/b/2012/07/30/stage-1.htm

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