Architectural distortion and fibrous breast tissue

Anonymous

Architectural distortion and fibrous breast tissue

Katmom2

I have been on this roller coaster for about 6 weeks now. Still no answers.

In early November I had my first ever mammogram, just after my 40th birthday. I knew right away that something was up. Sure enough a few days later I was called back diagnostic mammograms and an ultrasound of both breasts.

That day i was told they saw a mass in one breast that wasn't concerning to them, but I should have a stereotactic biopsy done since I would be having one on my other breast anyway. The other breast was their concern. They saw asymmetry and architectural distortion. Nearby they saw several cysts measuring about 2 cm in size. They were deemed totally normal cysts but the distortion had to get checked. The distortion could not be seen on ultrasound and no mass was seen, which I was told is a good sign.

I followed up with a stereotactic biopsy of both breasts. The breast of no concern came back as Pash. The distortion area came back as benign dense fibrous breast tissue. This caused discordance and I was sent to a breast surgeon.

I had surgery on Tuesday. The surgeon reassured me that 2 radiologists signed off that the clip was left correctly, meaning they took the stereotactic core sample from the correct spot. And that came back as benign fibrous tissue so that was her expectation. She pulled up my images to show that everything was done correctly and the clip was exactly where it needed to be.

After surgery I panicked coming out of anesthesia and she was called. On the phone she told me that everything went as planned, and the lesion was removed. I was crying so maybe to calm me down she said “I can tell you that when I cut into cancer it generally has a gritty texture. Yours was not gritty". Then we got off the phone.

My husband said she met him in the waiting room. He asked “did you find what you expected" and she said they did. She said it was slightly firmer but she suspects that was because of the core biopsy with clip left, and seed placement to guide surgery. 2 needles and invasive procedures create an inflammatory response (scar I guess).

I may not hear until after Christmas and I can't sleep. This has been going on for 6 weeks and sucked the joy of celebrating with my kids. I can barely function most days. My husband thinks based on what she said I should feel positive and optimistic, especially with a benign core already done. I'm just not feeling that way. I think emotionally a lot of damage has occurred over this long wait. Anyway, has anyone experienced anything like me? I am told the only things that cause architectural distortion are radial scar, prior surgery, and cancer. Yet I have found studies that show focal fibrosis as benign results after surgical excision. It seems that my core could absolutely be right... but then why put me through surgery? I’m just so worn out by this experience

AliceBastable

You got good news. Why are you freaking out over that?

Katmom2

I have been waiting since Tuesday for the surgeon to call with final results. The 3 cm area removed had not been read by a pathologist to confirm the core biopsy yet.

The optimistic side of me says the core biopsy showed benign fibrous tissue, and the surgeon told me after the excision that slicing my mass did not feel gritty, which she would have expected if i was cancer. But no official news means I still cannot eat or sleep. After 6 weeks my nerves are frayed and I want this ordeal behind me. My spouse feels that the surgeon would not have given me hope if she felt it was coming back with a cancer diagnosis. I don't have that same optimism I guess.

My mom had breast cancer at 45 and the terror of hearing she was sick has never left. I guess this brought that feeling back to the surface. I really just need to know

MinusTwo

Kat - Alice is right. You got good news. This is a holiday week. The chances that you'll hear any time soon are slim. You need to find something to distract yourself. Binge watch TV, go ice skating, bake a ton of cookies for a local nursing home. If you really can't sleep or eat, call your PCP and get some anxiety meds for short term use. They will understand.