How was your BC found? By doctor or you?

At my yearly exam, my BC was found with an Ultrasound. Mammogram did not show it. Thank goodness I asked to have an ultrasound as my Grandmother had BC in her 30's. I asked to have an Ultrasound done since I turned 55, now 62, diagnosed two years ago.

Mine was found at age 40 (July 2011) via my very first mammogram. No palpable lump, had routine physical breast exam in April 2011 (I think it was) nothing felt then either.

Mammogram showed microcalcifications but even those didn't really show the extent of the disease.

I felt it and asked for a mammogram. I was under 40 and they said I might be denied. Luckily Kaiser wasn't clueless and let me have it as well as an ultrasound. The results showed a "normal looking,water filled cyst". My doctor gave me the choice of checking back in 6 months or having a biopsy asap. I remembered my husband's doctor said he didn't feel he had cancer but he was wrong. That's a big part of why I decided to go thru w/the biopsy. My results were positive and my doctor was so happy I did it. Cancer doesn't always look like it should.

Just remember that Mammos are only as good as the radiologist who reads them. Also if you have dense tissue they can't see a whole lot… like looking for a snowflake in a snow storm. This is why I feel women with dense tissue should have a MRIs every few years especially if they see something suspicious. Mine would have been caught 4 years prior had I had an MRI not just an US. Yes had dense tissue.

You're right about the dense part. I had that problem as well. That's exactly why we should be tested before 40. Whoever came up w/that rule is insane.

odie16-have you had the skin stretchers put in? How was it if so? I still have a minimum of 2 months before my recon begins.

undercoverebel- Yes I currently have tissue expanders in (which are not real comfy but manageable). They were put in during  my bmxon 09/13.... Since I do not need chemo or rads, my ps says we can do my exchange after my final fill in 3-4 weeks. I am excited as it gets me close to my new normal sooner than I expected.. 

I had regular "annual" mammograms (which means sometimes it was more like once every year and a half) in my 40s (following a baseline in my late 30s) and calcifications were found by routine mammogram when I was 49.  They were microscopic.  I did not feel or detect anything different.  It was diagnosed after core biopsy as DCIS then IDC after first lumpectomy.  I had a uni MX.  I am lucky it was caught early.

I am 47.  I found a lump under my arm - I could just tell something was weird all of the sudden and started feeling around.  The lump could not be seen on diagnostic mammogram, had to have an US and MRI.  I had a baseline mammogram in 2007 but had never had a follow-up - looks like it would not have helped for me.  I also had dense and very "noisy" breasts per the radiologist. 

I didn't see the last set of stats...my cancer was also missed by mammos, ultrasounds and breast MRI....only the pathology after my bmx saw that my breast was full of other cancer and lymphovascular invasion :< 

My gyno also found mine she was almost positive it was a cyst since I was only 31 years old but didnt want to confirm it. So she ordered me to have a mammogram and an ultrasound. A week later I got the news from my oncologist that it was breast cancer.

I found mine. I had an itch in the armpit and bumped a lump in the breast. I was 38 so no mammograms yet. The doc said it felt like a cyst but lets get a mammogram anyway; I'm glad we did because it was already in a lymph node in the armpit.

I found mine one month after a "normal" mammo (had had annual mammos for many years).  I was scratching an itch over the lump and found it.  The 0.9 cm invasive part was seen on the ultrasound and the MRI.  The lumpectomy also found 8 cm of DCIS, which was NOT seen by mammo, MRI, US!  Since no modality saw the DCIS, which had obviously been there for years, I decided to have bilat MX, as there would be no way to follow for local recurrance.  No reconstruction.  Had chemo as well.  No radiation.  On anastrazole. Still believe in mammos but they didn't work for me.