I think the issue may be with the original Lumpectomy. If they get clear margins they stop excicing any more. If the residual cancer was quite a distance from the tumor they might have missed it. I am 100% positive if I had a Lumpectomy for my 2.1 cm tumor, like my surgeon wanted to, they would have never found the additional 3 tumors. Patients need to remember there is a margin of error in all scans and even surgeries. Many surgeons opt for breast conserving lumpectomies instead of bmx. BMX is the only way to be sure all the cancer in the breast is gone. Now even with a bmx, cancer cells could be spread to other parts of the body and regrow becoming stage IV

Usually the scar line is where the cancer if it returns it will there first. I hate when they tell you to wait 6 months. When I had my original cancer it was found on a 6 month mammogram from another non cancerous tumor that was removed. A 2.1 cm mass was found and they sent me to a surgeon. She took one look at the film and did a physical e am and could not feel it. She said the mass was probs lay non malignant and they should have told me to return in 6 months instead of sending me to her. She did a biopsy and sure enough it turned out to be IDC TNBC. I chose a bmx which was done 15 days later and they found 3 more tumors measuring 7.1 cm. Now, did the tumors grow in that 15 days, I think not. Now I am even wondering if they were there 6 months earlier when they found that non malignant one. I just have difficulty believing that 7.1 cm of IDC tumors grew so quickly. No one her can tell you what to do. If it were me I would do more chemo, one that is more aggressive. Usually once you have had radiation you cannot do more on the same side,

As a sister who went from stage IIB to stage IV in less than 3 years, I would take an aggressive approach and do everything I could to stop this disease in its tracks.

The cancer came back almost 5 years later on my incision line. They believe the reason I got cancer back was due to residual cells that were not all eradicated after lumpectomy, chemo, radiation and tamoxifen. Since the discovery I have had a bilateral masectomy and am in discussion of chemo and maintenance treatment options. The reason this is all so odd is that both times I had cancer they were found at low grade and low stage that would.normally not be suspect for return. However my oncotype is crazy high which makes treatment protocol a debate.

@A MyBCTeam Member About 5 weeks after my surgery I went to a family wedding. A few nights before my sister held a dinner so the families could get to know each other. The father of the bride that was marrying my nephew just happens to be a Radiation Oncologist. My husband asked him if scans and mammograms can be wrong, his reply was all the time, much more than you would think. So it is possible that my cancer had been there 6 months before and they just did not see it. I did have very dense breasts. I never felt my
2 cm tumor in December of 2015 and I never felt any of my 4 tumors, 7.1 cm in June of 2016. I only had 15 days between my dx and my bmx. Now in hindsight I should have demanded more tests. The problem is most of us are at the mercy of our surgeons. I did not meet my Oncologists until the end of July, a month after surgery,

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