New lump 1 month after biopsy for ALH

cjsgirl

Hello, all! This is the first time I've ever joined a forum or reached out for advice regarding my condition (other than friends, family and doctors). Here is my (albeit short) history: Early February I had a normal yearly exam and the doctor was concerned about a lump on the right side of my right breast. At 35, I had never had a mammogram and she recommended I go ahead and have one. The mammogram definitely showed possible microcalcification and very dense breast tissue in one area. I then had an ultrasound, which led to the discovery of an additional lump UNDER my breast. One week later I had a needle aspiration on both--the first lump (right side of right breast) was diagnosed as a cyst. However, the lower lump was inconclusive and there was concern of blood in the extraction. The following week I had a stereotactic biopsy which was confirmed as Atypical Lobular Hyperplasia. A full excisional biopsy was performed 1.5 weeks later. It has been a month and the incision has healed nicely. I was scared of the initial ALH diagnosis, thinking that "precancer" would simply remain a black cloud hanging over me. But I found that I could move forward and stay positive, knowing I would keep an eye on it and have regular checkups.

Unfortunately, for the last few days I've been experiencing pain under my left arm and on the left side of my left breast. I honestly thought this was due to sore muscles (recently started with a trainer at the gym and I've been SO sore). But last night I felt a small lump there. I called the doctor this morning and am having another mammogram today. I'm grateful they are quickly getting me in, but I am concerned about a few things:

a) woudn't you think this should have been detected a month ago on the mammogram? They did BOTH breasts. Is it really possible for a lump to grow that quickly if it wasn't there a month ago? b) What are the odds this is simply a cyst or is it more likely to be ALH confirmed in BOTH breasts??

I know I need to just chill and wait on the mammogram results today...but I do not want to go through this all again. Yes, I am grateful I do not have a cancer diagnosis, but ALH is serious and if these lumps keep "popping up" then I am wondering how many biopsies will I need???!!!

Should I get a second opinion? They have not yet referred me to a Breast Specialist--my doctor/hospital is part of Baylor and they do everything there. I am just confused and scared and a little suspicious I guess. By the way...no family history of breast cancer.

Thanks for listening!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Anonymous

Of course I don't know for sure, but it's highly likely to be another cyst, as cysts can come and go quickly. It could be another focus of ALH (can be multifocal and bilateral), but that wouldn't necessarily mean another biopsy. (I am high risk from LCIS (a step further along the bc spectrum from ALH with double the risk) and have family history of ILC (mom). I 've been doing high risk surveillance for over 7.5 years, took tamoxifen for 5 years and now take evista for further prevention. Do you have any family history of bc? Have they recommended  tamoxifen for you? (the general recommendation for ALH is just close monitoring, but they sometimes recommend the addition of tamox if there are other significant risk factors, such as family history.

Anne 

dansbetta

You're doing fine . Stay in good spirits . Stress is our enemy . Judging by what you wrote. This is most likely a cyst. But I think that must await the results of tests will then be clear. If this is indeed a cyst, then remove it, but after removing the need to restore the normal hormonal levels, so that-be to prevent the emergence of new formations (cyst). It must be remembered that all diseases of the nerves, something would have happened, was always in a good mood !

cjsgirl

Had mammo and MRI on Tuesday. Got a call yesterday that mammo showed clusterd microcalcifications and MRI didn't show much. Set up appointment for Friday morning to discuss next step (either core needle or open biopsy). Apparently the radiologist showed my findings to another radiologist--he thinks the calc and dense tissue are "masking" a possible 5mm tumor. How he knows this and the other didn't I don't know. And why was the calc not seen when I had my initial mammo in February? Can microcal grow that fast?

My docs are concerned and suggest open biopsy probably next week to remove the mass and tissue (and see what's really going on in there). I'm blown away by the growth of this--tumors can grow quickly (not good) but cysts can also grow quickly (not bad).

No history of breast cancer, diagnosed with ALH in the right breast in February. Now going through it all over again. Trying to stay positive. Tomorrow i go in for bloodwork, x-rays, etc. and they will all go over my results and upcoming surgery in detail. I'm very blah today. I hated the last open biopsy and how the drugs made me feel. I was out of it so bad for 4 days, had a lot of bleeding, but my incision healed nicely.

Crescent5

I don't think calcifications can grow that fast. It really seems odd to have this all come up so quickly. You must be a wreck. I hope it's nothing, and the radiologist is just being a bonehead. {{{hugs}}}