Dejá Vu - a biopsy every January now?!

SarBar22

Hi all, and Happy New Year! I've been lurking around the boards for about a year, since my left breast decided to start misbehaving...and now I'm waiting on another biopsy.

January 2019: had first Mammo & ultrasound (just turned 30) due to spontaneous discharge that went through bra and two shirts!) and pain. They found a 1.3cm mass far from the nipple; had biopsy (BIRADS 4c) and was told it was a papilloma. Fast forward to February, and I had a lumpectomy to remove it. Final pathology was radial scar with ADH (no mention of the papilloma from biopsy).

July 2019: had 6-month follow up ultrasound on left, given all clear, even though discharge was exactly the same and pain was still present.

January 2020: went in for another 6-month US/mammo; radiologist found new massarea of suspicion, closer to nipple, said this explains the discharge and it's probably a papilloma. Recommended another biopsy (still waiting on report to see what it says & rating).

Still having pain that has worsened and has traveled to my armpit & shoulder and what feels like a diagonal path from my neck to my armpit, across my chest (if that makes sense - almost along the lymph nodes if you look at a diagram). Nipple discharge is still there. I'm so confused as to how this would explain the discharge that has been there for 1+ years yet it wasn't found on either previous exam, and since I have extremely dense breasts, I'm wondering if something was missed since they said they saw nothing where the actual pain is. So now...another round of waiting, biopsies, and probably surgery. Hoping this is not my new yearly routine!

blah333

Something similar happened to me! I had to biopsy nodes last January 2019 because an ultrasound tech wrote that my reactive nodes were now missing a fatty hilum (indicating possible cancer spread) and reading that made me agree to biopsy them instead of monitoring them (though via a different view the hilum WAS visible). That biopsy they messed up, accidentally getting only muscle tissue, so I had to wait a month to do it over again. By the time the results came in I wasted 1.5 years of 2019 worried about having cancer.

Now, the day before New Years Eve I found a lump below my scar. Everyone on social media is posting about the past decade and things they've accomplished and how excited they are about the future and I'm just feeling terrible I might have cancer again. Also realizing wow - are regular biopsies and scares just a regular part of my life now? I didn't think that would happen with "just" DCIS and didn't expect to need a biopsy just 1 year after my surgery, now in the 2nd year. I find it hard to function when waiting (weeks) for biopsies and results it's like my life is on hold. It's a horrible way to start a new year!

SarBar22

Blah 333, I'm sorry to hear about your long wait and frustrating biopsy experiences! I'm just ready to have some answers and a definitive game plan, it feels like this is just constantly on my mind, especially because I've been in pain for over a year -__-

Hope you get the answers you're looking for, too!

fernisfat

Hello, I feel your pain....I just finished up radiation in November and had to go for a biopsy on the other breast yesterday...

I'm waiting for results to come any day now...The waiting is horrible!

SarBar22

fernisfat, I’ll be thinking of you the next few days and hope you get good news soon!! The waiting really is awful..

SarBar22

I am so frustrated with this process I could scream. I’ve now been rescheduled TWICE (was supposed to be tomorrow, then it was Tuesday, now it’s next Friday). Thankfully I saw the BIRADS and it’s only 4A, as opposed to last year’s which was 4C, so I definitely understand I’m the lowest priority, but this whole year has been dragging on and on, and I’m ready to be done with the whole thing.

Because of the 4A and almost definite diagnosis of a papilloma again, I’m wondering if I should just cancel at this point and wait a few months to see if anything changes with another US/mammogram. Ugh. Clearly they don’t see this as a big deal, so I’m also starting to think I don’t even want to go through with the biopsy 🙄 Thanks for letting me rant...it’s been a long week.