Wait for official results, or does this mean everything is ok?

Luna84

Hi everyone,

I’m 35 years old and I went to my doctor about 2 weeks ago because I noticed some dimpling and asymmetry on my right breast.

My doctor said it was likely nothing but sent me for a mammogram out of an abundance of caution. Today I had my appointment and after the mammogram, the technician came out and told me that the radiologist wanted an ultrasound on my right breast. After the ultrasound, the tech said she was going to confer with the radiologist and come back.

She came back a few minutes later and said “nothing to worry about - you’re free to go.”

Obviously this seems like good news - but I’m just curious if anyone has ever been called back after hearing something like that? I’ve heard of people getting on the spot biopsies following a mammogram/ultrasound, but I would imagine that this doesn’t happen in every case.

For anyone who got sent home after a mammogram/ultrasound who later got called back for additional screening or a biopsy - what did they say to you when they let you leave? “Everything looks ok, you can go”, or “thanks for coming in, you’ll get your results in X number of days.”

Thanks for any input you can provide! I feel silly for still being nervous after receiving seeming good news!

Moderators

Hi Luna, and welcome to Breastcancer.org,

We're so sorry you find yourself here and worrying, but we're all here for you! We're sure others will be by shortly to weigh in with their experiences with screening results, so stay patient and try to remain positive -- the truth is, if they had a concern, they wouldn't have told you everything looks okay!

Keep us posted if you hear anything else.

--The Mods

AliceBastable

It could just mean "You can go home.". Not every breast center has a radiologist on call for every patient, they have to work by appointment. I had my mammogram, then was told a few days later to come in at a specific day and time for an ultrasound and possible biopsy. So in that case, the radiologist was going to be available to me during that appointment time.

Luna84

Thanks for commenting! The technician said she was going to speak to the radiologist after doing the ultrasound. She came back a few minutes later and said “nothing to worry about, you’re free to go.”

So a radiologist definitely looked at the ultrasound- but I’m just wondering if anyone has ever had the experience of being called back after something like that? I believe that I’m supposed to get the “official” results in the mail.

I’m probably being too paranoid - I’m just worried that since the technician came back so quickly, I may get called back later after a radiologist reviews the results more closely. I’m probably getting myself stressed out over nothing, but I was just curious to hear whether anyone else had had a similar experience.

Each_day_2018

Even if ok, make sure to follow up. The dimpling on my breast is the primary reason I went back to the dr. I initially had a mammogram and US and the lump never showed up and they seemed pretty dismissive due to my age at that time (29) It was the outward changes to my breast, dimpling to the point my nipple had turned, that i finally went back nearly two years later. Don't wait that long!

I often post the bad side of things, but I would rather scare someone into getting more information/tests than have them not concerned and sugar coat it saying it's probably nothing. That's what happened to me. No one else seemed concerned so why should I be? And younger women are especially at risk of this due to our age, it isn't likely that it would be cancer...but it isn't impossible. It's better to push until you get ALL the answers! I learned the hard way that you have to be the advocate for your own health. No one else is going to do it. Keep an eye on any changes and if you need to request a follow up in three or 6 months, don't be scared to!

Luna84

Thank you. I will definitely keep an eye on it. The part of my breast that they looked at during the ultrasound wasn’t even the part of my breast that has dimpling, so I’ll be sure to keep an eye on things.

In my province, the current guidelines no longer require your doctor to do breast exams when you go in for a pelvic exam, and they don’t even recommend that women with “average risk” do any self checks if they are under 40! At the same time, they say that women should take note if they see or feel any changes in their breasts. How are women supposed to notice that if you are telling not to bother doing self breast exams!

I’m lucky that my doctor is wonderful and he took my concerns very seriously and sent me for testing immediately.

I’m sorry to hear about your diagnosis, and I hope that you’re doing well

MinusTwo

Luna - hope the doctor's report comes back benign/negative. Be sure to get & keep a copy of the report and a CD of the "pictures" for future reference down the road.