Worried about possible incidental findings

shoppygirl
shoppygirl Member Posts: 694
edited October 2016 in Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned

Hello All

I know that this is going to come across as paranoid and crazy but I really have no other avenue to ask about this.

So I had reconstruction after a bmx and radiation. I chose to have tissue expanders and implants even though I had radiation. Unfortunately on the rads side the implant fell down due to the tissue being weak from all the streaching and rad damage. Now I am left with two very uneven fake boobs

Today I saw my cancer nurse (no oncologist anymore) and she wants me to go to a different plastic surgeon to get a second opinion on what can be done to fix the fallen implant.

She wants me to go for a breast ultrasound to see what is going on and why it fell (over a year ago) , also the plastic surgeon will want one. The other thing is that the tumor was very close to the bottom of my breast so they have always been unsure if the margins were 100% clear after surgery ( another reason that I had rads) so after 4 years she wants to do a follow up.

I have no concerning issues and she just did a through exam , no lumps , thicking or anything, blood is great. The nurse also assured me that she feels nothing is wrong, she is just very cautious !!

Anyway my thing is that I don't want a scan!!! I am the queen of incidental findings and have had several scares! I see no need for this scan yet I feel that as it was ordered, I should go!

My biggest fear is that they will see an incidental finding on my liver as it is below the right breast that they want to do the ultrasound on. It's the one thing that I have not had an incidental finding on. I am not even sure if the liver shows up on a breast ultrasound !

So I guess my question is that , if they ultrasound my right breast , will they see my liver and be examining that too for abnormalities ?

I know it's crazy but I can't handle any more scares.

Your thoughtsand advice are great appreciated !!

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Comments

  • KBeee
    KBeee Member Posts: 5,109
    edited October 2016

    in a breast ultrasound, they typically do not look at the liver. They move the transducer just over the breast. That's been my experience. Hoping it goes well for you

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  • shoppygirl
    shoppygirl Member Posts: 694
    edited October 2016

    Thanks KBee!

    I'm trying not to be crazy about this ! It just seems like everything they scan me, they find something else weird!

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  • KBeee
    KBeee Member Posts: 5,109
    edited October 2016

    Incidental findings are common, but they are very anxiety provoking

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  • exbrnxgrl
    exbrnxgrl Member Posts: 12,424
    edited October 2016

    I think that once you have bc, there are a mountain of things to worry about. As stated, a breast ultrasound shouldn't involve your liver. However, if you have some reason to be concerned about mets, imaging is a good thing. Remember if something is "there" and you don't know about it, it's still there.

    This is not meant to apply to the general population, but it is simply my personal,story. My bone met was found incidentally, 5 years ago. A tiny, single grade 1 met, treated with rads, aromatase inhibitors and no progression since. I live a virtually normal life. I can't say for sure if the very early accidental discovery helped me achieve this, but I do feel that this was a good thing. Not sure how things would have gone if the met wasn't discovered until I had pain or symptoms. Wishing you the best.

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  • shoppygirl
    shoppygirl Member Posts: 694
    edited October 2016

    Thanks everyone,

    I really can honestly say that I don't have and reason to be concerned about mets it's just that everytine I have had any type of scan I have had an incidental finding that has led to more investigation ! Thank goodness everything has been benign but I think I am just traumatized by everything !!!

    Anyway, the nurse said I don't have to have the ultrasound right away, just as long as I do it before I see the plastic surgeon. I think I need to calm down a bit!

    Hope everyone is going well

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  • shoppygirl
    shoppygirl Member Posts: 694
    edited October 2016

    Thanks to everyone for your response. I just spoke to my nurse and she resassured me that the only reason for the ultrasound was so that the new plastic surgeon had a image so that they could fix my failed reconstruction. She has no other concerns and doesn't even want me to have the scan until the end of January. I think I need to calm down ! 😩

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  • KBeee
    KBeee Member Posts: 5,109
    edited October 2016

    Sounds like good news. The anxiety is very tough. I do understand

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  • shoppygirl
    shoppygirl Member Posts: 694
    edited October 2016

    Thank you KBeee!

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