My mom (mid sixties) was diagnosed recently. I don’t know much about the situation (just heard about it today), but I understand there’s five months of chemotherapy ahead, and that it’s not very advanced and apparently growing slowly. But this is from my mom, who seems less concerned than my sister (then again, my sister lives a lot closer than I do, and I’m sure she’d go all out no matter what the doctors said).
What is my mom looking at here? What should I know?
It all depends on the type. If it is DCIS then the survival rate is over 90%. DCIS should be considered Stage 0. Any other type and the situation is distinctly different.
I don’t know what that stands for, but it looks close to invasive ductile carcinoma, which is what’s true in this case. Is it?
I guess it is ductile carcinoma in situ and according to my wife’s surgeon, the cure rate is closer to 100%. In situ means it has left the duct and you take out the duct and it is gone. My wife had a long time ago and, aside from a biennial mammogram, never had any followup (radiation, chemo). Her mother died (in 1969) from breast cancer, having been diagnosed in 1966 and gone through the entire slash and burn routine.
I’m sorry to hear about your Mom.
Equal in importance of the type is the stage it is in. A relative of mine ignored obvious signs for a long time and was in stage 4 when she was finally diagnosed. She went through Chemo, radiation, and surgeries and lived another 5 years. Had she sought medical treatment immediately upon finding a lump they told her she could of had it taken care of and lived a normal length lifespan.
Between stages 2 and 3, I’m told. She’s starting treatment extremely soon, of course.
I’m sorry about your mom, Leaper. I hope she gains a complete recovery and lives a full, long life.
So that could mean either Stage IIA or IIB. (TNM Staging) If you want to know what she’s facing, you’ll want to find out the exact staging details. Along with her diagnosis, this info will lead you to a pretty complete set of likely statistical outcomes.
It all depends on what you (and/or your mom) want to know about this. Information is knowledge, and knowledge is power. Many cancers are quite well defined, and the statistics are well qualified.
The (very!) sad thing about Steve Jobs’ death is that, when he first was diagnosed, if he had sought the traditional treatments for his diagnosis instead of the crazy ideas out there like coffee enemas, it is highly likely he would still be alive today.
IANAD, and my training and education is engineering-based, but I have worked for a cancer treatment software and hardware company since 1995. You learn as you go.
I’m very sorry to hear this. A friend recently died from breast cancer. She beat it several times but it kept coming back and eventually got the better of her.
Sorry to hear about your Mom Leaper.
This site references the XKCD Randall did about Breast Cancer Survival. I know it helped me understand things better when my sister was diagnosed.
http://www.dreamcircle.com/2012/02/xkcd-cancer-survival/
Best wishes that she goes straight.
A. (I swear, if there’s ONE more layer to this, I’m gonna kick something. :P)
Sorry to hear about your mom. If you’re bored I’d look at fasting diets. I keep coming across articles involving cancer and the benefits of fasting. Something about it repairing cellular damage.
I just read an article about a diabetes drug named metformin which seems to have a beneficial effect for several types of cancer, including breast cancer. It’s still under investigation for this, but it looks promising. Something you or your mother may want to look into.
This may be related to the fasting diets, since metformin reduces blood glucose levels.
Well, yes there are more layers – allow me to step back before you start kicking. Or, to quote Lynyrd Skynyrd, gimme three steps towards the door, mister. 
But if you want to truly understand the survival rates like the OP, get the specifics on the dx and staging, and also (especially!) the standard treatment protocols. Many cancers are well-understood these days, including the statistical outcomes. Remember the Steve Jobs lesson.
An interesting book is Siddhartha Mukherjee’s The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer. (Amazon.com link)
Best of luck to your mother and you, Leaper. How is she doing?
An article that might be of some interest to people here that is likely NOT of relevance to your mother’s circumstance.
Good luck to your mother (and your whole family) and I am sure that you have already found out that Stage II overall has a 93% 5 year survival and Stage III 72%, so that FWIW her 5 year odds are likely somewhere in that range. Keep in mind of course that the 5 year survival rate for *all *in their 60s isn’t 100% either. A 93% chance of being alive in 5 years, for example, is not so far off from what the average American in their 60s has.
I am very sorry to hear about your mom. A friend of mine has been battling stage four for about three years. The treatments have sucked but at least she’s still alive. Hers was initially diagnosed as back pain and the lump as a cyst by a vastly incompetent doctor.
Reminds self to get mammogram next month.