Lumpectomy and Waiting

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FlaGirl50
FlaGirl50 Member Posts: 2
edited February 2017 in Waiting for Test Results

Hi, I'm Carol and I'm 50 years old.  I've undergone two core biopsies in the past and each time, the doctor would give me a pretty good idea of what she believed the lump was.  One was a cyst and it was aspirated.  The second was a fibroadenoma which she believed was 90% accurate.  Biopsy confirmed.  My latest mammo found a 2 cm lump, and was followed up with a diagnostic mammo and ultrasound.  I read some good things, such as circumscribed margins and heterogeneously hypoechoic.  But it also has mild posterior acoustic enhancement and mild vascular flow.  I didn't really get too concerned.  However, doctor wanted to get it out as she said she has actually seen cancer grow inside a benign tumor and she wanted it out.  I had my lumpectomy yesterday.   When the surgeon met with my husband, he asked her based on her experience, education and what she has seen, if the tumor looked cancerous.  She would only say that she did not cut into it, as a good surgeon would never do that, and that we would have to wait on the pathology.  Of course, my mind is going 100 miles a minute and thinking that since during the biopsies she gave her opinion and after the surgery, she is tightlipped, must mean she thinks it looked cancerous.  Am I being foolish to be worried...could she really tell by just looking at it what she might think it would be?  Any insight someone could give me would be so appreciated!  Also, not sure if this has any correlation, but my red blood cells are also slightly elevated.  Uggh!  The waiting is going to drive me nuts!

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  • mustlovepoodles
    mustlovepoodles Member Posts: 2,825
    edited February 2017

    I wouldn't say you are over-reacting. However, I wouldn't read too much into your surgeon's manner. The truth is, she doesn't know what the pathology is. Cancer tumors look like regular tissue. There is very little, if any, visible difference, especially in a small tumor. I know you're anxious, and we've all been there, but she's doing you a favor by not guessing around here. She doesn't want to say it could be cancer and send you off the rails, only later to find out it's really benign. That wouldn't be fair to you.

    Here's the thing. It will either be cancer or it won't. 80% of biopsies are NOT cancer, so you're in a pretty good place. If it is cancer, then your risk is 100%. But if it's benign it's 0%. I'm not a fan of grieving something that hasn't happened yet, and may never happen. It's a time and energy waste. If it doesn't turn out to be cancer, well, there will be plenty of time to be upset. But don't borrow it now. Sit tight and wait on the final pathology.

    If you feel your anxiety is out of control, call your doctor tomorrow and see if you can get a little something to help you cope. Or do yoga, clean the floors, bake cookies, shovel snow, or do anything else physical--it's hard to concentrate on "what if it's cancer!" when your hands are busy.

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  • FlaGirl50
    FlaGirl50 Member Posts: 2
    edited February 2017

    Thank you so much for replying!  I'm sorry that you are on this journey and able to give advice, but I do appreciate it so much.  I've gone through having two brain surgeries for a 4 cm tumor that was pressing on my brain stem.  Fortunately, it was benign, but they were not able to remove all of it, so I get monitored every couple of years for growth.  When I got the results from my mammo, I went into the woes me, haven't I been through enough.  But I didn't allow myself to stay there.  Mentally I'm doing okay, but, as everyone knows, google is not your friend when going through the unknown.  :0)  Again, thank you so much for such wonderful advice and best of luck to you.

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