Waiting for scrape biopsy results

lib1995h

Hi everyone!

I'm really grateful that I found this website and forum, as it makes me feel less alone while going through this. My dermatologist performed a shave biopsy (typo in the title, sorry!) almost a week ago now to rule out Paget's Disease of the breast and I feel like I'm worrying myself sick waiting for the results. I live pretty far away from my parents and my roommate has been out of town for a bit so I don't have anyone physically with me to keep me from letting my anxiety get the best of me.

I'm a 25 y/o female, no family history of breast cancer. I have had left nipple eczema (itching and flaky dry skin) for about 4 months now. I was prescribed two rounds of steroids with no improvement. It's going to sound incredibly stupid to say but my left nipple is a bit retracted and I have no idea if that is a recent change or not. I haven't ever had a formal breast exam and I never really paid enough attention to my breasts when changing and showering and what not so I have no clue if this is new or not. Either way, my dermatologist felt that the eczema + the retraction warranted a biopsy, so now I'm anxiously waiting my results. If anybody has any tips or advice, I would really appreciate it! I haven't told my family what's going on because I don't want to needlessly worry them if there's nothing to worry about, especially since they're so far away from me but I'm wondering if that was a mistake now, since I'm feeling really alone.

SKWUT04

I can't say I have great advice for waiting as I'm waiting for imaging - finally getting a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound on my right breast after finding a lump and having on and off pain in the same area for the last couple of months. But I resonated with your post as I'm also far from my family. They're on the east coast and I'm on the west. I haven't told them because there's no need to worry them, but it does feel isolating. I've told a couple of friends my fears and they assure me it's all going to be okay. Even my PCP feels confident its a cyst, but I have diagnosed health anxiety and if you google, you seem to only find the scenarios where it was "nothing" was really "something " or there are stories about breast cancer in the news, etc.

I've been doing a lot of my CBT skills from my therapist and one that I find helpful is to "worry on a schedule." Health Anxiety is very much an OCD behavior and so I have to schedule my worrying - I'll give myself X time to worry/Google, then I can't do it again for X amount of hours. Like this morning I gave myself a half hour to read post after post from anyone that fit my bill - mid-30s, moveable breast lump, unilateral breast pain - and then I stopped for hours and hours. Happened to pop on just to see if anyone had posted an update (you find you follow certain threads here) and saw this. I tend not to comment as I don't have much to add, but like I said, your waiting away from your family resonated with me.

As everyone keeps telling me - hang in there. Find ways to distract yourself. I took 15 minutes to meditate earlier and that was very calming (and another trick from my therapist). We'll both have answers of some sort soon enough!

lib1995h

Hi SKWUT,

Thank you so much for your tips and for sharing some of your own journey with me. Being away from family at this time really is so difficult. I'm on the same coast to coast situation as you are and it's driving me nuts. I tried meditating last night like you suggested and it was really helpful. Googling can really send us into a spiral, huh? I really like your idea of worrying on a schedule. This panic has been interfering with my ability to study properly since it just feels like a constant presence, so I really appreciate that bit of advice!

Hopefully we'll both get some good news soon

2019whatayear

Great advice SKWUT! I hope you both get some great news soon.

lib1995 it is good that your derm did the biopsy it's probably not anything but it is better to know and often times docs don't take younger women seriously when they raise issues related to their breasts.

LivinLife

Welcome lib! Hopefully you don't have to wait too long for the biopsy results... Distractions... check out the cat, dog, humor and games, etc. forums on this site. Also check out YouTube for cat and dog videos and likely anything else you can think of. Yes, walking, sitting outside and paying a little more attention to nature - birds, trees, sky, etc. It won't change your world and the worry will still be there though if you can get it into the background a little more or decrease intensity for a short time....

lib1995h

Thank you guys! I spoke to my PCP today and she put in a referral to a breast specialist to get the nipple inversion evaluated. I got pretty lucky as someone cancelled their appointment (hopefully because they got some good news!) and was able to snag a spot for next week. It's gonna mean a little more waiting but fingers crossed for good news only.

whatayear, I was really pleasantly surprised too at how seriously everything is being taken! I was steeling myself for dismissal but they're all being very good about it. I'm being seen at a well known university affiliated clinic, so that might be part of it.

LivinLife, thank you for your advice! I took a little walk today and it definitely helped get my mind off things for a while. Treated myself to a coffee and a donut and just tried to breathe. Hopefully there is good news coming and I can close this chapter for a while.

Jplanes777

i am waiting on biopsy results, it was an MRI guided biopsy that was done on 4/23/21. For a 5cm non mass enhancement. I have a history of breast cancer on my other breast in 2016. I just received a message in my chart with the description of the Biopsy, but not the pathology results yet. However, at the bottom of the report it states that this procedure was medically necessary as the risk of cancer progression is significant. This wording hasme really freaked out, it’s after hours and I can’t call the clinic. Was hoping for some feedback from anyone with a similar experience. Thanks so much!

lib1995h

Hi Jplanes,

I know that can sound scary and it's easier said than done but don't freak out until you can talk to your physician about what the results mean. I know that sometimes things are added on the chart for insurance purposes, so that your insurance will cover the procedure. My biopsy was coded by my dermatologist under "neoplasm of unknown origin" but when I asked her about it she told me it was for insurance reasons. Try to stay calm and hopefully you can get in contact with your doctor soon. There's some really good tips in this thread about taking your mind off the worry for a bit. Wishing you the best x

LivinLife

Welcome Jplanes! I agree with lib on the wording likely being more for insurance. Doesn't mean there aren't times the wording is accurate for an individual though one cannot assume that until you've actually seen or heard about more specifics.... Please let us know when you find out more....

Still thinking about you too lib! Glad you took that walk : ) Mmmmmm the donut and coffee sound good too! Great self-care on all of that!

Jplanes777

Thank you for your responses, the wording in these reports can be quite scary, especially having a history of bc. Hopefully I will have more information today, I will update when I do. I am so grateful I found this community. I wish you all the very best on your journey.

Moderators

lib1995h and Jplanes777, sorry you are here and waiting, but we wanted to say welcome! As you can already see, this community is full of wonderful members always willing to share advice, experiences and support in these uncertain times.

Good luck with tests results, please keep us all posted! We're thinking of you!

The Mods