Initial Scans BI RADS 5

Curlyqmiller

Anyone else have BI RADS 5 classification? What has happened since? I'm waiting on biopsy and just amtrying to get a picture of what MAY lie ahead. I know there there are a lot of possibilities.

Thanks!

ElaineTherese

Yep, my mammogram was labeled BI RADS 5, and my biopsy tested positive for cancer. See my signature for all my treatments. (By the way, my treatment plan was aggressive because my cancer was triple positive -- ER+/PR+/HER2+. The most common form of breast cancer is ER+/PR+/HER2- and often requires less treatment.)

But, I'm still here, 7 years later and still cancer-free. ((Hugs)) It's hard to wait for tests and their results.

Curlyqmiller

Thanks ElaineTherese! This helps a lot. I am a planner and still work full time. So, I am just trying to run scenarios of what this fall might look like depending on actual diagnosis. Any insight is helpful. Waiting sucks. Glad you are doing well!

LivinLife

Just want to welcome you Curly! Yours still could be benign though with BIRADS 5 it's good you're preparing yourself for not benign.....

Melbo

there is a high likelihood of cancer with birads 5, so it is best to be prepared. You will likely get biopsy results in two phases — the first one come pretty fast usually, confirming whether it's cancer or not and the general type (idc vs ilc or another variant — idc is most common.)

the part you are really waiting on is the profile of the cancer, I.e whether it's positive or negative for ER, PR, or HER2. Most of the time you won't find out until you see the surgeon (who is usually the first cancer doc you will see.) when they know the profile of the cancer, they will come up with a treatment plan. It could just be surgery and probably radiation. But it could also be chemo either before surgery or after.

Treatment is determined based on the profile of the cancer, stage (1-4), and grade (1-3). There are sometimes other things like oncotype score that also could be used to determine treatment, but the first three things are considered first.

my timeline: 10 July 2020 mammo and ultrasound — birads5. 15 July biopsy. 16 July confirmed as IDC. 21 July saw surgeon and got profile. 7 August started chemo.

The NCCN breast cancer guidelines are a great resource for learning more about breast cancer and staging.

https://www.nccn.org/patients/guidelines/content/PDF/breast-invasive-patient.pdf

Curlyqmiller

Thank you Melbo! This is very helpful.

Melbo

the entire experience sucks. It's an incredible amount of stress, fear, and waiting as you imagine the worst. The good news is that it starts to get better once you have a treatment plan in place and you have a better idea of what your specific situation is. It's also good news is that breast cancer can be treated and often hasgood outcomes.

Do what you can to distract yourself for the next few weeks. Educating yourself is good, but try to avoid rabbit holes if you can. This website is an excellent resource and the community is very supportive and informative

DogMomRunner

Bi-rads 5 on my mammogram after I found the lump. I had a milder round of chemo. Very lucky to be Her-2+ otherwise I would have been triple negative and more aggressive chemo would have been needed. Melbo is right about the important information being the hormone/her2 status. That along with the stage determines the treatment.

When I posted about my Bi-rads number, I was told that there was still a chance that it might not be cancer. Those who have a 5 don't usually continue to post here if it turns out to not be cancer.

I hope you are one of those people

Moderators

Welcome, Curlyqmiller. We're so sorry you find yourself here, but we also hope you see that you are not alone, regardless of what your results end up being. Please keep us posted, we're here for you.

The Mods

MEandJax

Hi Melbo,

This post helped me today. Thank you.

I was thinking that the tumor board would confirm the tentative plan today (7/16) and I was ready to get things rolling.

I found the lump on the 25th of June, got into my primary, scheduled with oncologist and things seemed to be progressing. I met the surgeon this week and radiation doctor (not a fan of her) this week. They were all supposed to meet today 7/16/21 to agree on the plan.

I had been feeling as positive as I could and ready to get this going until today, when I had a minor meltdown. This morning (7/16) , I find out they won't discuss a final plan until the MRI comes back. The MRI didn't get brought up until I was with the surgeon, so I have to wait until 7/23 for that (another Friday). The surgeon is out next week.

This website is excellent and I appreciate the posts. I know I am not the only one with this disease, but sometimes I feel like it. The community is really a Godsend for me.

Thank you everyone for sharing your story and helpful tips.

Melbo

MEandJax: that sucks. I’m sorry. The waiting truly is awful and there is no magic way to get through it. It’s also okay to have meltdowns every now and again because the stress and fear can be overwhelming. We shouldn’t be expected to keep it completely together every minute — we have to feel, acknowledge, and respect the emotions so we can learn to live with them and move on.

One thing that helped me was reminding myself that the cancer doesn’t usually move *that* fast (even an aggressive breast cancer) . So even though it’s awful to wait and you want to start treatment right now, waiting another couple of weeks won’t have an impact on the outcome. The doctors know this, which is why they are okay with all of the delays, even while we, as the patients, are mentally screaming “I just want to get this over with!”

One other mantra I found useful when the fear was awful — something I read on posts here — you don’t have to be brave, you just have to show up.

One day at a time. And if that is still too big to picture, then one hour at a time or one task at a time.

Momof2G

my latest scan was a bl rads 4. Biopsy Wednesday. I’ve had bc before and throughout the years I’ve been clear. I don’t know why this one is scarring me so mucg

MEandJax

Melbo,

Thanks so much.

I really like the quote: you don't have to be brave, you just have to show up.

I finally heard about my MRI, which was good. The tumor is 4cm, which is somewhat bigger than the ultrasound (3.3cm); so hopefully I can still do lumpectomy. The surgeon has been out the last two weeks so thinking one day at a time is good advice.

I will hopefully hear whether chemo to shrink or surgery first and that will at least give me an idea of what to expect next.

ME