Can doctors determine how long tumors have been there?

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elise24601
elise24601 Member Posts: 155
edited June 2016 in Just Diagnosed

Like some of us, I feel my tumors sprouted overnight. They are large and high grade. But radiologist said that the calcifications on the mammogram look like "they have been there for a while." How is this possible? How can he tell?

I'm frustrated that I couldn't have been dx at an earlier stage. I was not told to get mammograms or ultrasounds until age 35-40 at earliest. So I didn't. I just had clinical breast exams with my yearly physicals or paps, which were always normal. My partners and myself also would check occasionally, but my dense tissue must have masked anything. Now I'm facing fast growing stage 3 at age 31. Really curious how long it's been inside me. I only went to the doctor a few weeks ago because I had pain, swelling, and nipple changes. Now suddenly I might not survive the next 5 years!

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  • Smurfette26
    Smurfette26 Member Posts: 730
    edited May 2016

    Sorry you have found yourself here elise24601. As hard as it is to believe at the moment; dealing with this diagnosis does get easier with time. Many breast cancers are not palpable. I had Multi Focal ILC. Four cancerous lumps, the largest of which turned out to be 4.2 cms. Even after seeing them on imaging, mammo and ultra sound; they still couldn't be felt by the breast cancer specialists at my breast clinic. My cancer would have been growing for years and although I did self exams I had absolutely no signs or symptoms. Wishing you well on your journey. Hugs Donna.

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  • keepthefaith
    keepthefaith Member Posts: 2,156
    edited May 2016

    elise, unless you have a strong family history or other high risk factors or conditions, you won't be told to do mammos, at a younger age. The newer 3D mammos and guidelines mandating that a patient has to be informed of dense tissue, is a start, I guess, in making progress. Give yourself credit for being aware of the symptoms that had you go to the Dr to get checked. Just because you are at stage 3 does not mean that you won't be here in 5 yrs. Like Donna said, sometimes all of the tests we do, still may not catch it. The important thing is , is that you are now aware and can gather knowledge to make the best treatment decisions, in order to beat this!

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  • msphil
    msphil Member Posts: 1,536
    edited June 2016

    hey sweetie lots of us found our own lump i didnt feel a lump til that fateful day in shower n of course i shower everyday n it wasnt there even my husband never felt a lump. But sweetie im here to Inspire u to keep Hope n Positive thinkin for i am now a 22 yr Survivor PRAISE GOD. msphil idc stage2 Lmast chemo and rads n 5yr s on Tamoxifen

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