MRI "normal" but still need excisional??

Options
I_Spy
I_Spy Member Posts: 507
edited September 2014 in High Risk for Breast Cancer

Hi everyone,

I was diagnosed with ADH in left breast by stereotactic biopsy in July. Met with breast surgeon, who wants to do an excisional biopsy, but agreed to do MRI first to look for other areas of concern. I got the results of the MRI, which are listed as "normal".  This is excellent news of course!  The breast surgeon gave me the good news and then scheduled my excisional biopsy for Sept 2nd. Now it has occurred to me -- isn't MRI better than mammo at diagnosing dcis? Why do I still need an excisional biopsy if the MRI was negative? Aren't we just looking for dcis next to the ADH, and wouldn't that dcis have showed up on the MRI?

· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • ballet12
    ballet12 Member Posts: 981
    edited August 2014

    It is standard protocol to do an excisional biopsy after a diagnosis of ADH, with or without MRI findings. I had ADH by stereotactic biopsy, and then DCIS was found on excisional biopsy.  Much more extensive than the area of calcifications seen on the mammo.  My MRI was always normal on that breast. Best of luck. 

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • I_Spy
    I_Spy Member Posts: 507
    edited August 2014

    Thank you ballet12, that is very helpful. I will post on one of these boards after my excisional, as well as after I get the path reports. :)

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited August 2014

    actually, mammos are thought to be better at detecting the non-invasive bc's (DCIS and LCIS), while MRIs are better at detecting invasive bc.  MRI shows a lot, but not necessarily everything; an excisional biopsy  taking actual tissue is more definitive. Praying they find nothing more serious than the ADH.

    anne 

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • I_Spy
    I_Spy Member Posts: 507
    edited August 2014

    Thank you Anne. Yes, I like to think positive. Although, I have an interesting way to do that: I pray that if I have cancer they find it -- so I can handle it early. If I don't have cancer, they won't find it so I don't need to pray for that. ;)

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • I_Spy
    I_Spy Member Posts: 507
    edited September 2014

    Well for anyone reading this later, I wanted to report that I had the excisional biopsy and they found DCIS.  So good thing I got it.  I had clean margins and just a small amount of DCIS, so I may not even need radiation.  But thank god for the excisional biopsy when we did it, and we got it so early!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Janet456
    Janet456 Member Posts: 507
    edited September 2014

    Good news all is done ispy.

    My DCIS was also picked up as an incidental finding when I had a large lump removed.  The surgeon told me to look on my large lump as my fairy godmother - works for me.

    xx

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Lilith08
    Lilith08 Member Posts: 163
    edited September 2014

    That's good news, ispy! I had MRI-guided biopsy in June of this year and they found ALH. I had surgical excision, too--as I understood it, there's a small chance (maybe 10%, if I remember correctly) of finding an in situ cancer nearby, as they did with you. But apart from that, they want to excise the ALH/ADH, because the cells have started to turn bad, and they don't want to give them a chance to turn into cancer. That's my non-medical paraphrasing of the situation :)
    Wishing you well in whatever the next phase brings your way.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories