Hmm, The 3 could stand for a few things such as; Grade 3 (which refers to how fast the cancer grows - grade 3 caners are the highest grade, cells don't look like normal cells and tend to grow and spread more aggressively.)  Or 3 could refer to the staging (how bad the cancer is or if it has spread) Staging comes in 0, I, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IIIc, and IV (IV being the worst) along with that are lots of factors such as if it has affected lymph nodes, how many and if it has metastasized or not.

Your pathology report should list everything on it, though difficult to read.  Refer to that if you have a copy or you can request a copy from your doctor's office.  In the meantime you could call and tell them you weren't clear on what they told you and ask them to repeat it in a way you can understand (and write down for future use!)

They don't make it easy on us to understand.  Still to this day I am confused when it comes to DNA Ploidy, and this is my 2nd time around in 3 years!

Let us know if you have any more questions once you get your path report, we'd be glad to help ya!

best of luck!

Angi

Marilyn, you might be referring to a single part of your pathology report, where cancer cells are given a grade from 1-3, in three different areas, as follows:

Histolopathologic Grade: This measure is often reported using some version of the Bloom Richardson or the Scarff-Bloom-Richardson scale. It is based on a combined score for nuclear grade, mitotic rate, and histologic grade or architectural differentiation. Each characteristic is given a score of  1 to 3, resulting in a total score ranging from 3 to 9.  

•Nuclear Grade is assessed on a scale of 1-3.   A Grade 1 (low) indicates small nuclei with little variation in size and shape.  A Grade 3 (high) indicates larger nuclei with marked variation in size and shape.  Grade 2 (intermediate) nuclei show features between 1 and 3. The higher the grade is, the more aggressive the tumor.

•Mitotic Rate This rate indicates the number of malignant  cells that are actively dividing. The mitotic rate is reported with numbers from 1 to 3.  The higher the score is the more aggressive the tumor cells.

• Cellular Differentiation This measure is based on how closely the specimenresembles normal breast tissue.   This measure refers to tubular formation of the cells. A grade of 1 indicates a well-differentiated tissue with many tubules, Grade 2 moderately differentiated, and Grade 3 poorly differentiated tissue with few or no tubules.  

I'd ask your doctor is "type 3" referred to your Scarff-Bloom-Richardson score... and if not, what exactly "type 3" refers to, because it's a designation I've never heard of. Good luck! - PJH