Seriously? More bad news? Waiting to have biopsy test, results

CPB1167

Thanks for being with me in all of this.

3 weeks ago today I rolled over in bed and felt discomfort in my left breast. I felt a lumpy area and compared with my right breast and it was completely different feeling - left lumpy, right all fatty. I have had mammograms every year since I was 35 and last Sept 2017 my coworker told me about the u/s mammogram if I have dense breasts. I didnt know I had dense breasts until I actually read the pathology results on my previous mammos - frankly I always read the "negative" or however it is written that they found no areas of concern results in the first line of my mammo test report and read no further. When my coworker told me about dense breasts I looked at my previous mammo results and sure enough it stated clearly on numerous/all reports "patient has dense breasts" I immediately called my gyne and demanded this further test. From what I was told, this u/s mammo was only recently being offered to patients for their preventative screenings. Regardless, last Sept both my mammo and the u/s mammo showed NO areas of concern.

Fast forward to 3 weeks ago. Got in to see gyne to check, had mammo & u/s mammo, had biopsy on 2 masses and have been diagnosed with IDC of the left breast. WTF (sorry for my cussing) is all that ran through my head. Met with breast surgeon who recommends mastectomy (which I am in favor of). He said to have an MRI to rule out that there is no cancer on the right breast. OK I had that done this past Thursday and yesterday the nurse called to say the right breast shows no signs of abnormality...and my brain shut down with relief until she added "there is an enlarged lymph node on the left breast side that you need to have biopsied".....WHAT?! I guess I didnt realize the MRI's looked at lymph node areas too so I was in shock. The actual words on the MRI report are: "there is a asymmetric irregular cortical thickening in a left axillary lymph node which measures 2.5 X 1.1 cm of at least moderate suspicion for axillary metastasis." She said after the biopsy of the node the course of my treatment may change, meaning I guess I may have to do treatment (I presume chemo or radiation?) prior to the mastectomy.

My biopsy is scheduled for this Tuesday and that day seem years away....my brain and emotions are swirling pretty badly and going to dark places in my mind....

I am trying to keep it together and stay on my mindset of "day by day, appt by appt." mindset but after hearing the nurses words yesterday I am having a difficult time hanging on to those mantras....

I am reading all areas of this site, I am grateful to you, the moderators and all the info that is here. I am trying to hang on to hope.

Thank you for listening....peace to everyone here.

bluepearl

It is moderately suspicious so let us hope for the best there. And UGH!!!! about the rest! I had an architectural distortion that was considered "nothing" until 5 years later it became breast cancer. Both mine, luckily, were found through the mammogram. You will likely need chemo and rads, but that still needs to be determined. You will go through this raging roller coaster of emotions...it is natural.....ativan helps in the worst moments. Always hang on to hope. (((HUGS))))

beach2beach

It is a shock and there is no real bright side, but thank goodness you felt it, otherwise you would not have known maybe until this Sept, while not far away, rather catch it sooner than later. I have always had mammo/sono my radiologist always recommended it I had over 75% dense breasts. If not for the sono, they would not have caught the cancer, it couldnt be felt, and the mammo was clean. I would not have known maybe until I was due this year for routine mammo/sono. A year later?!!! It sucks, but thank goodness the sono can pick things up. MRI's pick up even the smallest of things. Could just be inflammation, hang onto that. It is normal to be so overwhelmed,,,,you really will get through this. It's just so much gets thrown at you at once its hard to put it all together.

Please let us know how it goes. Fingers crossed.