A Path Through

Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC). Bit of a mouthful and not really a combination of words that a person would normally use in day-to-day discussion. I really cannot see being out with friends for lunch, sitting on a patio, enjoying a seafood salad with a glass of wine and saying, “hey, did you hear about Invasive Ductal Carcinoma?” Nope, this group of words is something you say when you have to.

On January 31, 2022, these three words came into my life uninvited and now are a part of my life vocabulary. I have Invasive Ductal Carcinoma and have to say, not really a fan.

The words did not come from the cheery receptionist who called to advise me that the biopsy was back and I needed to come in for a follow up. No, it was 20 minutes later when my family physician called.

The familiar phone number popped up on my phone display and when I answered, THAT voice greeted me. It was not the familiar voice that I knew from pregnancies, colds, and health checks. It was a voice tinged with knowing compassion, like the ones that I had heard several times over the past weeks. I immediately knew this was not a call I wanted to get.

As I put my phone on speaker so my husband could hear, she simply said, “I’m so sorry, but the results show it is cancer. You have Invasive Ductal Carcinoma”. From that point onwards, I know she talked about next steps and treatment but I could not tell you all that she said. This was because from the moment she said those three words, I had retreated to the dark corners of my soul and was curled up in the fetal position crying and screaming NO!!!

It would take several days before I was able to venture out of the darkness to understand what I was really dealing with and spoiler alert…it didn’t come from google!

What is IDC you ask? Well, thanks to my incredible oncologist (Dr. Bourque), who did an awesome drawing on the paper that covers the exam room table, I can tell you. Very simply, the breast has a milk duct, which when cancer cells start to grow along the inner lining of the duct, it is referred to as Ductal Carcinoma. This stage can be treated through many means and has a very positive outcome.

When the cancer cells do that nasty thing they like to do and spread, they move outside of the duct and invade the breast tissue, and there you have it….Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. Simple right? On the scale of “common”, IDC represents 80% of all breast cancer diagnosis.

But here is when things get dicey as you now need to unpack the word INVASIVE. As lovely as the breast is for the cancer to live in, it has its eyes set on prime real estate like the lymph nodes, lungs, and bones. Yup, it is is looking for the body’s version of a mansion with an ocean view. When it sets up camp in any of these areas things become a bit more challenging, not for cancer….for YOU.

This is where I get to sprinkle in a bit of positive dust on the story. After scans, and pokes, and tests, and squishes, I can confirm that there is no indication that my cancer is anywhere other than in the breast. Bone scan looked good, CT scan show no abnormalities in the nodes (however the nodes have yet to be examined through biopsy which is done at the time of surgery), and all else looks great…except for the 3.2 cm unwanted invader in my right breast.

Invasive Ductal Carcinoma…..the reason that I am now on this journey and finding a path through.