Have 6 mos. mammo Thurs. for micocalcs/alh

shabby6485

Hi everyone,

The day is almost here for my first 6 mos. follow up mammo after my lumpectomies for microcalcs and alh.

I couldn't sleep at all last night.  I am worried I will have to go through the whole process again (biopsies, waiting, ect) if more microcalcs are found this time.

Is anyone else being followed every  6 mos for this? If so, what were your results? Just trying to get some peace before tomorrow, I guess.

Thanks and God Bless

Anonymous

Hi Shabby,

 I am right there with you, but I'm a week and a half behind you.  I had two lumpectomies in May of this year, and two more in June, one month later.  I had had 3 clusters of microcalcifications, one of which was ADH right up to the margin.  I then had an MRI, then they found another suspicious area in the same breast.  Since I needed another lumpectomy anyway, the surgeon re-excised the original incision to make sure nothing was left behind.

I'm having bilateral diagnostic mammos on Monday the 10th.  I've started thinking about mine too, and I have a lot longer to wait than you.

I hope you can find some calmness and peace today.  What time is your appointment tomorrow?  I'll keep you in my prayers.  Please feel free to PM me if you want to vent or talk. 

Dukemom

ccchop

Hi,

I am right there with you also.  I had a sterotatic biopsy in May and it showed ADH, I then I a excisional biopsy and that came back with ALH.  I go back to the doctor on the 6th, not knowing what he will recommend.  When the 2nd path report came back he told me he would see me in Nov. and he would probably recommend an MRI if my insurance would cover it.  So I have been thinking about this alot lately, and hope that nothing else is found.  

 I will keep you both in my prayers.  

Anonymous

1. Hi ccchop,

I'm sorry you are in the boat with us, but at least none of us is here alone.

I will keep you in my prayers too.  Please feel free to PM me if you want to talk.

 Dukemom

shabby6485

Thanks so much for replying.  tomorrow at 9 am.  I feel sick today. I hate the idea of going through this every 6 months.  My stomach is in knots.  I will keep you all in my prayers.

Misty3

I know how you feel, shabby.  I felt the same way you do this past Monday, the eve of my 6 mo post lumpectomy, diagnostic mammogram.  It doesn't have to be bad--my results were great ( and I thought the worst! )!  My calcifications are stable and the mammogram was normal!  Odds are, yours will be too!  My prayers will be with you!

Anonymous

Shabby,

I'm sorry you feel sick.  I hope you can get some sleep tonight.  The stress we put ourselves through every time we have to face the uncertainty is so hard. 

I'll be thinking of you tomorrow morning.  If you are feeling scared or freaking out, take some slow deep breaths.  I'll be with you in spirit.  Please let us know how it went after you get home. 

Misty,

WOO HOO and congratulations on a normal and stable mammo!!  That is wonderful news!! 

 Dukemom

Msdede

Hello, 

 I am also in the same boat as all of you.  I am going for follow up mammo's and MRI's, switching every 6 months.   I am not scheduled for my first MRI till March.  I know I will be a nervous wreck.  I had an excisional biopsy done in July because of microcalcifications.  It came back high ADH bordering on low grade DCIS, associated with microcalcification and greater than 2mm from the margin, (still don't know what margins are).  I am taking Tamoxifen for the next five years, do you also ?  Good-luck with your mammo!

CAZ

Wishing you all boring mammograms and peace of mind.  You are all in my thoughts.

Carol(AZ)

carolt

I'm in the same boat.  I just got the results from my 2nd biospy and it show ALH, the first one showed ADH. I have had previous biospies for calcifications.  The surgeon suggested 6 mos Mammos and Tamoxifin, since I have a family history.  My mom was dx when she was pregnant with me 45 years ago.  I consider myself lucky I haven't had a definite dx yet.  I'm scared about the side effects of the Tamoxifin, any suggestions?  Should I be having MRI also?

ccchop

Dukemom2

hate to be stupid, but can you tell me what PM means please.  Sorry.  

shabby6485

Hello,

Had the 6 mos. followup mammo this morning. Luckily my lab tells you results right away and my mammo looked stable, so I am relieved!.  Have to go for another in 6 mos , then back to yearly.  Good luck to everyone else.  God Bless 

CAZ

Hey Dukemom,

PM is private message.  There are so many acronyms flying around, it's hard to keep them straight.

I hope all is well with your checkup.

Carol(AZ)

Anonymous

Shabby:

Great news!  Congratulations!  Now, you can exhale and relax.  I've very glad you got a good report.  It's wonderful when they can give us the results right away!

Msdede:  Margins are the edges of the tissue sample that they take in the biopsy.  If the abnormal cells/malignant cells are close to the margin, they tend to want to go back and take more tissue - until they get clean margins.  From Medhelp.org:  "In general, most surgeons would prefer a margin of 2mm or more. However, if the pathologist reports that there is no cancer in the margin, then it is a clear margin. A 1mm margin is acceptable."

Carol:  It is good to hear from you.  I hope all is going well with you.

ccchop:  A PM is a private message.  If you look up at the top of the page, the tab on the far right says "Private Messages".  Click on that, and it will take you to your inbox.  You can also compose PMs and send them from there.  Of, if you want to initiate a PM, click on the member's name, and then click on "Send a Private Message". 

Dukemom

Anonymous

Shabby--that's wonderful news--so happy to hear it!  I was diagnosed with LCIS ( a step further along the bc spectrum with double the risk of ALH; I also have family history) 5 years ago.  I had a lumpectomy and am very closely monitored by mammos alternating with MRIs every 6 months, US as needed, and frequent breast exams. I just finished my 5 years of tamoxifen 2 weeks ago; fortunately I tolerated it pretty well overall. The high risk surveillance is stressful, but it does give me a sense of comfort to know I'm watched very closely too, so hopefully anything would be caught very early . Feel free to PM me if you'd like to talk, I've been dealing with this a long time now.

Anne

Misty3

shabby, great news!

leaf

We like to hear that kind of news,shabby!

Kimber

Shabby,

Great news!  The monitoring is so stressful!  But now you can relax...... 

Msdede

Shabby, Great news!

Dukemom2, thank you very much for the explanation!

shabby6485

Thanks for all the replies.  You guys are great.  It's nice that we can talk with people who understand this type of anxiety.  Do you know how many well-meaning people said oh, it's just a mammogram!  Anyway, I'd love to hear results from everyone else that is on the 6 mos. schedule.  You are all in my prayers... ccchop!

leaf

Oh yes... before my 'suspicious calcification' mammogram, I thought the only people who get breast cancer were people who ignored their breast lumps.  And I'm a pharmacist!

BTW,If you have some conditions (specifically LCIS and ALH with nothing worse) you don't have to have clean margins.  That's because they are often multifocal (there are often many spots in one's breast(s)), they often can't be detected before biopsy (normally not by mammo, ultrasound, or clinical exam, and regardless, they put both breasts at risk, even if there is only abnormal tissue in one breast.)

Kylesh

Hello All,

I am right there with the rest of you. I have my six month follow-up mammo on the 12th of November. Last May I had a wire guided biopsy that show ADH the the following week I got the results back from a colonospy that showed pre-cancer polyps.

Wishing everyone good results from their follow-ups.

Kyle   

shabby6485

Hi Kylesh and ccchop

Please let us know how your follow-up goes.  You are all in my prayers.

Shabby

Kylesh

Hey Shabby,

Had my follow-up mammo yesterday...so now I am waiting on the mailman to bring me that boring card that shows everything was normal and see you in six months

Kyle

Anonymous

Kyle, cchop and others on "our" 6 month schedule:

I had my 6 month diagnostic Monday.  I have a new cluster of microcalcifications, which the radiologist says was not seen in my March mammograms.  It is at the 12:00 position, same breast as last time.  The incision from which they found the ADH is at the 10-11:00 position.   I have my appointment with the surgeon on the 24th. 

I hope the rest of you get those boring cards/phone calls!

shabby6485

Hi Dukemom2

I was checking in the see how you did.  I am sorry you have to go through this again. Let me know if you want to talk.  I'll keep you in my prayers.

Shabby 

leaf

Wishing you boring results, Dukemom!

CAZ

Hey Dukemom,

I'm so sorry you're going through this again.  I'll be thinking about you.  You've been such an inspiration to so many on this site.  We're here for you.

Carol(AZ)