December Biopsy...Anyone else?
Hi. I just had my biopsy done on December 31. Happy New Year to me. Two weeks ago, at my ultrasound, the radiologist stayed with me for a good 10 minutes afterward. He very gently told me that I had a mass that was taller than wide and "they" liked them to be wider than tall. It is in my left breast. He tried aspiration with a needle and found the mass to be solid. He said, "Quite frankly, I don't know what it is." Oh, oh! I am 32 with 3 kids and a wonderful husband. I had a biopsy last year and was dx with a fibroadenoma. I am confused about some of the terms on the mammo report or why the findings are important in #1. Here they are. BIRADS 4
1. Area of asymmetry with a suggestion of convex margins noted on CC
view left breast. A definitive correlate on ultrasound is not seen.
No definite correlate on MLO. We will follow this area for stability.
2. There is an indeterminate mass in the left breast at 2 o'clock 7 cm
from the nipple. This appears to be in a different location than the
previously biopsied mass which revealed fibroadenoma.
Ultrasound-guided biopsy is indicated in this indeterminate mass.
Thank you for any help!
Comments
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Hi SaraJo!
I'm so sorry that you've needed to find us...do you have an appointment scheduled with a doc or someone else to discuss the biopsy results? Or are you expecting a phone call? (Biopsy results are handled in different ways in different places.)
At this point, the imaging report is less important that it was. The most important thing is that it suggested a biopsy. Which you've already had done. (BIRADS 4 is one of the codes that says the person who wrote the report thinks that a biopsy is in order to figure out what "it" is. Which you already knew when the radiologist said he didn't know what it was.)
At this point you should be planning to get copies of two different reports. One is the biopsy procedure report (prepared by the person who performed the biopsy), it will discuss the procedure and describe the samples sent to the pathologist. The second is the biopsy pathology report (including any interim reports or addenda). Those will be the important ones to read. They may well conclude that the finding is not cancer (only 20% of biopsy findings show a cancer, so there's every reason to assume that you'll be in the 80% with a B9 finding) and suggest you resume screening, either on the regular annual schedule or at 3 or 6 months.
If you're back to screening, they will be following the "things" they saw in the mammogram report.
HTH (and be sure to come back with more questions if/when you have them.),
LisaAlissa
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LisaAlissa, thank you for the advice! The radiologist said he will call me within 3-5 business days. With Friday being a holiday, I am expecting a call by Thursday. I wasn't as nervous about this biopsy as I was last time. After the procedure last year I shook so hard from being scared that the tech thought I was having a seizure.
I am trying to take this in stride...then I googled taller than wide breast mass. BIG mistake!! Back to being nervous since everything (all of the Google results) points towards malignency. However, my Google search lead me to y'all, so that is a blessing. I just have this pit in my stomach-you know? It is what it will be, I guess...adding insult to injury, my boob is frozen by the ice pack in my sports bra. Haha.
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SaraJo, my previous cancer was "wider rather than taller" and the biopsy I just had on the 29th showed the same shape as before. What it did show during the ultrasound was vascular activity which means my tumour has it's own blood supply. I'm not expecting good news, but do pray for us all. Keep posting, you started a good thread! We want to hear good news. I see the surgeon on the 12th of January as the holidays have screwed up every department needed to diagnose and treat me! Horrible way to start the new year, so I get it.
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barbe1958, wider than taller, eh? I am sorry to hear that your tumor has its own blood supply. I have been reading other threads and it seems like the holidays messed many people up. It is an awful time to wait (and have to fake being joyful when so worried). --being a BC veteran, did you know what to look for on the ultrasound? Or did the radiologist point the blood supply out? I remember, very vaguely, the pretty colors on the screen (:O) Everything is now a blur. Waiting one day at a very slow-paced time. Sigh.
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SaraJo, when I first saw the area it was dead black - just like the first time. In an area of grays and whites there it was. Dead black blob. Then the tech presses a button I guess that gives her a thermal image and you can see the pretty colours of a blood flow. I had my first diagnosis on Dec 10th, 2008. Deja vu all over again...sigh.
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So here's the mind game. I was told the biopsy was benign! So the surgeon went ahead and scooped out the lump while in Ambulatory Care and only freezing. I saw the lump myself as my husband held my hand. I got a call-back to the surgeon today and was told pathology has shown breast cancer after all! So now the whole crap starts again and i just began a new job on Tuesday!
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So sorry Barbe. You must be devastated. Sending a gentle hug.
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