Trying not to freak out...

sabihah

So, a little history...

Last year I found out I had a BRCA-1 mutation. There's plenty of breast cancer, and at a young age, in my family. My Mom just finished the main part of her treatment for TNBC (BMX, PBSO, chemo, reconstruction); she'll be on medications for a few more years.

I've decided I want to have a PBMX, but I'm holding off until we move closer to family next week. The surveillance has been nerve-wracking. In the last year I've had 4 mammograms, 3 ultrasounds, 2 MRIs and a biopsy. There was a benign tumor and another area on the MRI that they've been watching. Now I just got a letter in the mail about the breast MRI I had two weeks ago:

"Your breast imaging exam shows the need for further evaluation.
It is important that you call your health care provider to discuss the details, and decide together what the next steps in your medical care should be. Be advised that this may require additional authorization from your health insurance."

Could that be any more vague? And my doctor's office is not returning my calls! ARGH. And I'm moving in a week! ARGH.

I'm normally a very calm and resilient person, but this just wears on me. Not gonna lie, I'm a little freaked out. I think you guys are the only group who understands this.

sabihah

Oh dear lord, my primary care doctor's out of the office until Wednesday, and nobody can tell me more until then. That's cool, I don't need to sleep at night or anything...

WinningSoFar

Is it possible to make an appointment with your new primary care doctor where you are moving. A couple of weeks won't matter in the big picture, and you'll be set up where you are going to be.

sabihah

Yeah, I already have an appointment with the new doctor just a few days after the move. And actually, the "new doctor" is a doctor I've had before, and she's great, so that much is good.

WinningSoFar

I hope that you will be able to sleep in the meantime. I think you can pretty much assume that your breast MRI shows some area of concern and I would not be a bit surprised if your new doc will send you for another breast MRI instead of relying on one that is distant. Here's hoping that the whole thing is just another b9 result.

Moderators

Sabihah-

We're so sorry for what you're going through, this all must be incredibly stressful for you! Could you sign a medical release and have your new doctor contact the radiologist for the results of your latest MRI? At least that way she could review them and maybe go over the results with you over the phone, so you didn't have to wait until you see her or your current doc, or spend the next week worrying with no answers.

The Mods

sabihah

OK, I worked the system and got some answers. They're setting up an MRI guided biopsy for a small area that looks suspicious, which did not show up last year.

sabihah

Well, they couldn't find the area that lit up on the MRI last time, so they told me to come back in 6 months. The doctor said it's a good sign that it disappeared, so it's most likely benign. Sigh.