First 6 month check post excisional biopsy

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kathryni
kathryni Member Posts: 73
edited June 2014 in High Risk for Breast Cancer

I'm a former member of these boards, but it's been a while since I've posted anything.  

I had a mammotome biopsy in December 2006 for nipple discharge accompanied by a lump in my breast.  The biopsy came back with just fibrocystic changes (benign) and I was told to follow up at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months post-biopsy.  

At the 12 month post-biopsy check up (it ended up being 15 months due to scheduling issues) the ultrasound showed that the lump had grown back and then some.  It was larger than before and the composition looked different.  I walked out of that "check up" with a surgery date.

  

I had an excisional biopsy (quadrantectomy) in April and the pathology revealed typical and atypical ductal hyperplasias.  It was explained to me that these findings indicate that my chances of developing breast cancer were approximately 5 times that of the average woman and that we would have to monitor things closely.  She stated that the only way to be sure it didn't come back was to remove my breast tissue and at age 24 (I'm now 25), that wasn't really high on my to do list.

Anyways, tomorrow is my first 6 month check up and I am suddenly overcome with anxiety about it.  This started in 2006 with a biopsy for a lump, then at a normal follow up the new lump was found and had to be surgically removed.  I'm afraid of what they'll find at this follow up and that I'm going to have to go through this cycle of anxiety every 6 months for the rest of my life.  Does it get easier in time?  I just can't get over the panic that there might be something new growing.

I want to be positive and upbeat, but honestly, I'm terrified.  I'm assuming this is normal, but I'd love to hear any advice that anyone else might have.   

Thanks,

Katie 

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  • Beesie
    Beesie Member Posts: 12,240
    edited November 2008

    Katie, of course you're scared.  That's normal.  But really, the odds are in your favor. 

    What you were told was a bit misleading.  Having atypical ductal hyperplasia does increase your breast cancer risk but unless you have other significant risk factors, your risk to not get breast cancer is still a lot higher than your risk to ever get breast cancer.  You do not have 5 times the risk of the "average" woman.  With ADH, your risk is "4 to 5 times higher than that of a woman with no breast abnormalities".  There's an important difference in those two statements.  The "average" woman is an average of all women, including those who have no risk factors and those who are very high risk.  The average woman has a 12.7% chance of getting breast cancer in her lifetime.  But a woman with "no breast abnormalities" has only about a 4% - 5% risk of getting breast cancer in her lifetime.  So if you have no other significant risk factors, this means your risk is in the range of 16% to 25% (4-5 times a 4%-5% risk).  The other way to look at this is that it means the chance that you won't get breast cancer is 75% to 84%.  If you have other significant risk factors, such as family history, your risk may be a higher.  But if ADH is your most significant risk factor, then your risk is probably not more than 25% and may be lower. 

    Good luck with your check tomorrow.  I hope that everything goes perfectly and that there are no problems.  In my case, I've had breast cancer and I know the fear of going back for the first check afterwards.  The nervousness is normal.  What I've found is that as I've had more checks that were okay, the fear starts to fade.  These days I don't get nervous at all until about 1 hour before the appointment!  Hopefully you'll have lots of clear checks in the years ahead and you'll lose the nervousness too.

    Here's the ACS webpage on benign breast conditions.  If you scroll down about 2/3 of the way, you'll find information about ADH.

    http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_6X_Non_Cancerous_Breast_Conditions_59.asp

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  • kathryni
    kathryni Member Posts: 73
    edited November 2008

    Thanks for the support and clarifications, I greatly appreciate it.  

    I'm not sure of my exact breast cancer risk to be perfectly honest.  When I first got the pathology back I was floored because I thought I had no family history.  Since then I've come to find that my grandmother and her sister both had breast cancer.  My family is undergoing some genetic counseling because besides my grandmother and her sister, there are literally no other females on that side besides my sister and myself and we want to make sure there aren't genes hanging out on that side that we've missed before we go on to have children.  

    I don't know what my official risk is with a minimal family history but it is comforting to know, as you pointed out that the odds are still in my favor for never developing breast cancer.  It's just very troubling to face this at 25, knowing that I (thankfully) have such a huge amount of time in the future to worry about it.

    Thanks again for the advice and the link.  I know I'm probably overreacting, but it is very comforting to not feel alone (especially since my husband is 2000 miles away right now!)

    Katie 

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