Had MRI, got results and now need more testing

Dskvarla

hi everyone. Brief summary. I was diagnosed with DCIS and also invasive carcinoma. They already removed a small tumor during a lumpectomy which they thought was papillomas. But they biopsied it and it came back as cancer.

My doctors ordered me an Mri to make sure it didn’t spread or I had more tumors. The results came back and they found multiple tumors in the same breast. The right breast had one suspicous area but they don’t think it’s anything.

I am getting an ultrasound done tomorrow and a needle biopsy either tomorrow or soon. I am also getting blood work Tuesday for the brca gene. They want to find out if the tumors they saw on the mri are in fact cancer and nothing else.

Has anyone been in my situation before? I’m convinced they are cancer since they already found cancer in me a few weeks ago that they removed. They still need to remove the DCIS.

I’m freaking out! If you’ve been in my situation did yours come back as cancer too?

Guenhwyvar

I'm sorry you're freaking out. I did, too. All of this is so stressful.

A lot of times MRI shows additional areas of concern. There is a fairly high rate of false positives. But I also know quite a few of us had additional cancer that was only seen on MRI. So it really could go either way.

Roxy13

I am in your situation. I got a call back after the MRI. They wanted to investigate the lymph note on the right side (they thought the node was "on the higher side of normal", whatever that means) and something that showed up on the left breast (the cancer is on the right).

I just came back from the hospital. They did an ultrasound and found the node to be clear (although, of course, they won't know for sure until the surgery, or at least that's my understanding). On the left side, they found some spots (which were visible only on the MRI) and the radiologist was pretty confident they were benign. I asked for a biopsy anyway, I don't know why, since I'm planning to have a double mastectomy anyway. They were on the fence about the biopsy but ended up doing it so we have all the available information about both breasts. I was pleased with the results I got so far - obviously, the biopsy takes a few days (and these were my first good news since the initial call-back).

Sending good vibes to you!

Dskvarla

why did the radiologist say they looked benign? How can she tell from an image on ultrasound? That’s why a biopsy is needed. I’m glad you’re getting one.

I had my ultrasound done today. And they found two masses that match the Mri. One is 1-1.5 cm. The other is 3cm. I have to have a mri guided needle biopsy on nov 17. So more waiting. They may be able to get me in tomorrow but the chances are slim.

MTwoman

Roxy, a reason to have a biopsy of something on your left side (even though you're getting bmx) is that if it was something, they would want to do a sentinel node biopsy on that side during your mx surgery. Once you've had mx, they can't do SNB. so knowing it is b9 lets them skip messing with that side's lymph system. The fact that you've already got bc on the right means that a biopsy is reasonable, even if they are pretty sure it's b9. Sounds perfectly reasonable to me. Just dotting the i's and crossing the t's.

Dskvarla, radiologists experienced in breasts imaging can say that something looks b9 based on it's characteristics. There are specific characteristics that, when seen together, give an overall appearance of a b9 finding. The following link is a radiopaedia article on " Benign and malignant characteristics of breast lesions at ultrasound" (https://radiopaedia.org/articles/benign-and-malignant-characteristics-of-breast-lesions-at-ultrasound) The article goes through the positive predictive value of each characteristic.

swg

Hey hon. I was in the same boat as you. Had one known cancerous tumor and my BS sent me for an MRI. The MRI showed a suspicious spot on the same breast as the tumor, and a suspicious spot on the other breast.

I went ahead and did 2 more biopsies..the one in the breast w/the tumor already HURT SO BAD. The one on the other breast did not. And I was told by the radiologist that the ultrasound made it look like it wasn't cancer on the other breast. Sure enough, she was right.

So I have 2 tumors in my right breast, with the left one clear. I'm grateful I got the MRI and didn't just rush to do a lumpectomy, then find the 2nd tumor later.

Roxy13

MTWoman, thank you for the reply. Makes sense.

Liz1985

Hi. Prior to the surgery did they have to do the injection with the dye into the nipple area to locate your lymph nodes?

I am getting ready for surgery soon (meeting with Dr. on Monday to review the plan) and I am worried that the injection near the nipple area with the dye is excruciating painful. Do they actually inject the shot into the nipple or in the aeriola area? Stressing out here in Chicago land!

beach2beach

Dskvarla, So sorry that youre stuck in the waiting game now to get the biopsy done. Hopefully they can get you in sooner.

Liz1985, I did not have the injection done until the day of my surgery and it was done, at least on me, on the top part of the breast. Not in the nipple or areola area.