MARIAM
DIAGNOSIS: Age 36 | Stage 2, Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, ER and HER2
GENETICS: No family history of breast cancer
BRCA: Tested negative for mutation
DIAGNOSED BY: Mammogram, ultrasound, MRI
TREATMENT: Mastectomy on the left and elected to have preventive on the right
CANCER-FREE: 8 years
Mariam was diagnosed at 36, stage 2, with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC), ER and HER2 positive.
She did not have any family history of breast cancer, and tested Negative for genetic mutation.
There were calcifications and 3 masses seen on her mammogram and ultrasound. She had an MRI due to the young age of her diagnosis in order to evaluate for the extent of disease and look at her contralateral breast. It was an ultrasound core needle biopsy that gave us the diagnosis (two masses were biopsied).
Invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), also called infiltrating ductal carcinoma, is the most common type of breast cancer. About 75% of all breast cancers are IDC, according to the American Cancer Society.
‘Invasive’ means the cancer has spread into surrounding breast tissues. ‘Ductal’ means the cancer started in the milk ducts, the tubes that carry milk from the lobules to the nipple. ‘Carcinoma’ refers to any cancer that begins in the skin or other tissues that cover internal organs, such as breast tissue.
A message from Mariam to Dr. Teal this Mother’s Day read: “I can hardly believe 8 years ago on Mother’s Day weekend our journey together began. Thank you for giving me the gift of all these Mother’s days with my family.”
Mariam received radiation on top of chemotherapy for about 6 months, then needed a mastectomy on the left and elected to have a preventive mastectomy on the right.
She is now 8 YEARS CANCER-FREE.
Read ‘No Longer Radical’ for more stories like Mariam’s.