My path report says invasive ductal carcinoma with apocrine features.

This says 50% are triple negative but have a better prognosis than other triple negative cancers. It also says this type is aggressive but has the same survival rate as non-apocrine breast cancers.

Here is more:

Invasive ductal carcinoma with apocrine features is a rare type of breast cancer that represents approximately 1% of all breast cancers1. It is also known as invasive apocrine carcinoma1. When examined under a microscope, invasive ductal carcinoma with apocrine features is made up of large pink cells that look very similar to the cells found in a type of sweat gland called an apocrine gland1. Apocrine carcinoma is a microscopically defined type of invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) of the breast2.

Thank you. I am not triple negative. I am hormone positive, her2 negative so that is what is confusing me.

@sirene so 50% of cancers with apocrine features are hormone positive and if yours is, that is good news! You can take medications that address the hormones that feed the cancer.

Thank you @windyshores! I will find out on Tuesday what my doctor recommends. From what I read online, it is rare to have apocrine features. Is that what you understand?

Yes, it looks very rare! Good luck with the doc! Maybe you can educate us...

Thank you. I will.

Thank you

@sirene many of us have taken aromatase inhibitors like anastrazole and letrozole with few side effects. I did have minor joint pain that abated if I walked more than 20 minutes. By 40 minutes it was better. If your docs recommend that you take one, it helps to understand that those who have fewer or no side effects are less likely to post on a forum.

Hello @sirene this is a rare pathology, but it sounds like you have a few paths to successful treatment. I know waiting for that appointment tomorrow is probably crazy making, I am glad @windyshores has been keeping you company.
Having ER+ means you have a “druggable” target to treat your cancer. I know on forums everyone talks about the downsides of this but trust me, it is better to have a path to treat, than to not have that option.
I took 15 years of endocrine therapy, and now letrozole as a secondary drug. Yes there have been some side effects. Hot flashes are the most bothersome, still there after almost 19 years 🥵. I was fully gray haired and starting to wrinkle by the age of 40. I have a few more aches and pain than my peer age group. That being said, I am still here to whine about it. 😂
I am waiting with you for that appointment tomorrow, I truly do know how hard that is.
Do you have your list of questions ready and someone going with you to be an extra set of eyes and ears?