ALH what to expect now

swimmom, welcome to BCO.

To help you prepare for your appointment next week, there's an article on the main Breastcancer.org site called Questions to Ask Your Surgeon. You'll hear from more community members too, who can share their personal experiences.

The Mods

Welcome, swimmom01!

I have been diagnosed with ADH which similarly is a pre-breast cancer, only located in different breast tissue.

ALH/ADH are basically just that - a precancer.  It's not cancer yet, but it puts you at a bit higher risk than someone who doesn't have it.  When ALH/ADH are found upon biopsy, standard procedure is to do an excisional biopsy (surgical removal of the area) to further test it through pathology as approx. 20-25% of the time there may be very early LCIS/DCIS or even very early invasive breast cancer hiding amongst the ALH/ADH.

If no cancer is found, then you will likely face frequent future screenings by mammogram, ultrasound, breast exams, and/or MRI.  Many of us are in this situation, and that will likely be your outcome also.

If cancer is found, they will do lots of testing on the pathology of it, and keep in mind it would likely be LCIS or a very early stage cancer which is highly treatable and not very life threatening.

I think all of us here can say by experience that the time for you between now and when you get the pathology results is very stressful.  The best thing you can do is turn to people like you find here for support, and educate yourself on your condition.  This web site has great information, as do the people who have walked this path here.

Questions you can ask your surgeon is how much tissue he/she expects to remove, how soon will you know the pathology results, will he call with the results or do you find out at a future appt with him, do you need further testing before the excisional biopsy, is there only one area of concern, do you need to be seen by an oncologist for possible hormone therapy (like Tamoxifen or Evista).

*Hugs* and best wishes!

welcome, swimmom!  Glad you found us. This forum is a great source of info and wisdom--in fact brendaks sounds amazingly like my breast surgeon  The info she gave was spot-on. My breast surgeon said the excisional biopsy is important because it gives us a chance to see if there is any cancer in the area, and therefore start treatment early. She also said that some women elect not to do it. They just want to accept the results as benign. The risk there is that if there are any cancerous cells, they might continue to grow without treatment. Her opinion is that it's better to know, than to not know. When I first came to this site, I honestly didn't know whether I would do the excisional or not. I had a lot of drama going on in my life, and it was not exactly a great time to add more to the mix. After getting feedback from other women who had faced the same choice, asking more questions of my breast surgeon, and a consult with an oncologist, (and prayer) I decided to do it and it was a wise choice. They found no cancer (yay!) yet now through the whole process I know much more about atypia, my breasts, good health, and my options. I feel more confident in making the best decisions for myself now, which is far different than I felt just 2 months ago.

I would co-sign all the advice you were just given, from the mods, ma111, and brendaks. Make a list of questions and concerns and ask about your options. My breast surgeon made me feel comfortable in asking any questions, and I think you will feel better once you meet with him/her.

Keep posting, let us know how you're doing. You are NOT alone.  Blessings!    Jaye 

The doctors will typically just tell you that you have ALH or ADH, but won't go into much detail beyond that.  Most of us who have ALH/ADH have additional issues and changes going on, so don't fret it too much.

I had ALH while my sister was diagnosed with METS BC. I had a nipple sparring prophylactic mastectomy 4 months after my sister passed away, for me it was the right thing to do for my health and peace of mind.

Glad you feel more comfortable, swimmom. My BS actually reviewed the MRI results with me right before surgery, pics and all. It was a smooth procedure and recovery and I know my comfort with her had a lot to do with it. Wishing you the best in your procedure!

Jaye 

{{Swimmom}} I know this is tough. Thinking of you...drop us a line whenever you can. You are NOT alone. 

Hugs....Jaye 

So sorry that it went this way!  Boo.

I had a bliateral mx after LCIS diagnosis and never looked back and it's all been ok.  Considering your young age and your family, I think you are making a good decision.  Hoping for good health for you!!