Wait and see?

I would not wait. I would go see a breast surgeon and have it removed to be safe.

I would talk to my doctor again.  I would feel more at ease if they would do a MRI or a biopsy.  I would not want to wait six months.

I don't think I'd be satisfied with that answer... I'd want whatever it is 'out' and tested. Not all mammogram machines are created equal, and for that matter, neither are radiologists.

Yes, definitely! You don't need to be worried for six months, thats for sure.

I really don't know. Did they give you the radiologists written report? Do you know a radiologist that can read the US or look at the mammogram and give you an opinion? I still think that I'd insist on an MRI and / or biopsy.

My grandmother had bc at age 82.  Other than that, I have no family history of bc.  I had an abnormal mammo with a follow up in 6 months comment at age 42.  I immediately made an appointment with a surgical oncologist that specializes in breast cancer.  He said, yes, we wait.  So I waited.  Six months later, I had adh...(something like "precancer").  Removed.  Then, 6 months later, new abnormal mammo, with follow up in 6 months again.  Six months later, at age 44, dcis.  I believe that, in my case, waiting was absolutely the right thing to do.  We still caught it early.  Now, in my case, things were a little different than you.  I did not have a cyst.  I had calcifications. 

 I was REALLY glad that I had gone to see the surgeon after the first abnormal mammo.  I had developed a relationship with him, by the time the surgeries started.  Also, I liked having his expertise in reassuring me that I could wait 6 months. 

If I have any advice for you, it is to be sure to get a specialist involved now.  Get their opinion as to whether to wait or not.  And, if you are not comfortable with their answers, seek another opinion.

 Wishing you all the best outcomes!

Claire

Thats good news! Chances are it is benign. With the MRI, if it's benign at least you'll now have a baseline for the future. If they see anything, I'd push for a biopsy.

There is no reason to wait when they can go ahead and identify it.  You have a family hx which validates further caution to detect and resolve early.  Some of these lumps are best placed in a jar.

Okay, let me be the only person to offer a different perspective.  I say this as someone who has a few cysts in my one remaining breast, including at least one complex cyst. I'm currently in the middle of a 6 month wait and see period.  I've had BC (and a single mastectomy), my mother had BC and my aunt had BC.  Yet the recommendation from the radiologist upon seeing my latest cyst on the ultrasound was "let's wait 6 months and see".  And I gladly agreed with her.  Why?

First, cysts are often very easy to identify on an ultrasound. The fluid in the cyst is a give-away. So when a radiologist sees something and says "it's a cyst", then it's pretty much always a cyst. Simple cysts are perfectly round masses filled with fluid.  Simple cysts are benign about 99.99% of the time.  Complex cysts are any cysts that aren't perfectly round or that might include a few floating particles (called 'debris') in addition to the fluid. Complex cysts are benign about 99.5% of the time.  

The easiest thing to do with a cyst is aspirate it.  I've had that done more times than I can remember.  It's a 2 minute procedure and all you feel is a pin prick. The doctor uses a needle and syringe and pulls the fluid from the cyst.  And then the cyst is gone. If you have just one or two large palpable cysts - i.e. cysts that the doctor can easily find just by feeling your breast - then an aspiration is simple and easy and probably the best thing to do.  But if the cyst isn't palpable, then an aspiration is a more complicated procedure because the doctor needs to use an ultrasound to locate the cyst. If the cyst is tiny, it can be hard to get the needle to the right spot. Depending on where the cyst is located in the breast, it might be difficult to reach the cyst with a needle.  If there is more than one cyst, it might not be possible to aspirate all of them.  I currently have all four of these problems, which is why my current cysts haven't been aspirated.  

So that leads either to multiple biopsies or surgery - which would be silly for something that is almost certain to be benign and totally harmless.  So instead, for those of us who have cysts that aren't easily aspirated, we get a BIRADs 3 rating. BIRADs 3 is defined as a condition that is "Probably Benign; Short term follow-up recommended".  BIRADs 3 means that something has been seen in the breast, but whatever was seen does not have the appearance of cancer and has less than a 2% chance of being cancer.  With BIRADs 3, to avoid unnecessary biopsies (and the scarring that comes with that), the preferred approach is to wait 6 months and then take another look.  What the radiologist is looking for is stability. Breast cancer isn't stable; it spreads and grows.  A cyst is either going to dissipate on it's own or remain completely stable and unchanged, or grow.  In the first case, when you have the 6 month follow-up, the cysts will be gone.  In the second case, the cyst will still be there but will have showed no change, confirming that it is stable and just a harmless cyst.  In the third case, if the cyst has grown, it might be easier to identify and/or aspirate.  If anything else should happen over those 6 months, for example if the cyst no longer appears to be a cyst, then you move on to a biopsy. With cysts, that rarely ever happens. 

A couple of things to keep in mind as you consider all the responses here and other women's experiences.  Sometimes, depending on where the cyst is located and how dense your breast tissue is, it might be hard to know for sure that a mass is a cyst.  I have extremely dense breast tissue and I've had that happen to me quite a few times.  In those cases, the radiologist is less certain that the mass is a cyst and therefore an immediate aspiration or biopsy is strongly recommended.  This is why some of the women responding here were sent for biopsies immediately.  Another reason this could have happened is because all complex cysts are not alike.  Any cyst that isn't perfectly round and 100% fluid filled is a complex cyst.  Some cysts appear to be 100% fluid filled but maybe are just slightly oval in shape.  Some cysts may have just a couple of specks of debris. Some cysts have very thick uneven walls. Some cysts may appear to be as much as 50% solid.  Those are all called complex cysts but the risk associated with each of those situations is different. The last two situations are more concerning and those usually lead to an immediate biopsy; the first two situations are not concerning and they may be more appropriately handled with a 6 month follow-up. This is why all of us who have complex cysts cannot compare our situations to each other.  If your radiologist is satisfied that you can go with the 6 month wait and see approach, it means that he is quite certain that what shows up on your ultrasound is indeed a benign cyst.

I have some cysts that have been in my breast for years.  They are stable and every year they show up and are noted on my films. Because they are stable, at this point they only warrant a BIRADs 2 rating, which is a "normal assessment" however something benign is noted as being present in the breast.  I'm currently BIRADs 3 and on a 6 month follow-up because a new complex cyst showed up at my last screening.  The radiologist was very confident that this is just another cyst so I'm not worried at all.  I'm confident that my follow-up ultrasound will be just fine and then I'll be back to BIRADs 2.  And if by chance it's not, we'll deal with it then. 

Having said all that, I would agree that you should get a second opinion.  Have either a breast surgeon or another radiologist review your ultrasound films.  If the conclusion is the same - that what shows up appears quite certain to be a benign cyst - and if the recommendation is the same, i.e. let's follow-up in 6 months, then I think your mind will be eased and you can go with that recommendation.  But if another set of eyes reviewing your films reaches a different conclusion and recommends that something be done sooner, perhaps an MRI, then you can go with that.  

When I was in my early 30's I found a lump in my right breast. went for mammogram,it "looked like a cyst".

Two weeks later,it was larger and surgeon tried to aspirate-nothing. Had surgical biopsy it was a (by then) huge fibroadenoma. That was the start of my faithful yearly mammos,and then 6 month ones when microcalcifications showed up.

But,my 2 idc's never showed on mammos.

The BRCA test is a $3500 test, but with your mom and aunt it should be covered... will still cost you a co-pay though... I had to pay 10%.

I would definitely have the MRI.. non-invasive and might shed some light on things. My mantra is better safe than sorry.

Before they draw blood the doctor will ask you a lot of questions.. Make sure you mention all the family history... or if you are of Jewish decent (can't remember the kind of Jew)... then it will be covered... I think it always counts toward deductible... Luckily I have a 90/10 coverage, but a copay for sure would have been better.

Personally I would not "wait and see".  It's fine if it really is a cyst, but you might want to get a second opinion just to be sure.

You could have an US guided biopsy... Have you met with a breast surgeon? If not, do that first.