26 and needing advice

LacyWideen

Hi! I need help deciding if I'm being overly concerned or if I should keep pursuing opinions.

In early 2018, I experienced some milky nipple discharge when my breast was pressed on. I brought this up to my primary who ordered a mammo after my prolactin levels came back within range. In July of 2018 that mammo came back clear but as I am 26 and busty, my breasts are very dense and hard to read. My primary shrugged it off and told me "just don't mess with it"

in June of 2019, I decided to change primary providers. When consulting my new primary, I brought up that I was still experiencing this discharge. She referred me to general surgery, whom I met with fairly quickly. They sent a slide of the fluid off to cytology and this came back with epithelial cells, thus prompting an MRI.

July 2019 - my MRI comes back clear. The general surgeon is willing, but does not recommend a biopsy due to the probability of it effecting my ability to breastfeed in the future. The big issue with the biopsy is since my MRI is "clear" there is no specific area to biopsy besides the ducts, my concern with this is that the discharge doesn't come out when the nipple is squeezed but rather from when the breast is pressed in a specific area and I'm worried that would mean a biopsy of the ducts wouldn't come back with anything even if there was something.

Am I being paranoid or should I keep pursuing? I keep getting told it's probably a benign thing and that I'm to young which is totally possible but I'm terrified of letting it go and it actually becoming something later.

Thank you

ElaineTherese

Hi!

You have dense breasts; you had an MRI; the MRI came back clear. It seems as though you have had the appropriate scan for your situation. The surgeon is right; you can't biopsy something if that "something" cannot be located.

Does your family have a history of breast cancer? If so, you might want to repeat the MRI every other year or so. If not, I'd let it go for now. Good luck!

LacyWideen

So I should not be concerned that the actual fluid came back atypical?

Thanks!

ElaineTherese

I do think that you should remain vigilant about your breast health due to the discharge. Maybe, you could discuss it with a breast expert rather than a general surgeon or a PCP. Otherwise, I'm not sure what ought to be done, given the clear MRI. Good luck!