the radiologist that reads your mammo is so important.

I was young...I didnt know..If I had picked up my mammogram reports....I would have gotten a second opinion.

mammos are difficult to read. my mammo report I later found out had this ??area. It went on for 2 mammos. I know the last radiologist that read my mammo, that later did my breast biopsy was later fired. I was screwed.

so in hindsight I would just go to big centers that the radiologist only reads mammos. and gives same day results.

A needle biopsy is no big deal...sure you get scared for 4 days....I have been through hell. If only he had put a needle in it. I saw a lawyer. These cases are difficult to win. He acknowledged I had been screwed by one of the radiologists in the very group that I worked with. I did file complaint with medical board. and I sent a letter to be forwarded to him when it had metastisized.

runor

Thank you for your very honest and beautifully written post. I'm sorry that you are facing cancer. I'm sorry that you had to go through all of those emotions! BUT i'm glad you had a surgeon who helped you to come to the decision that is best for YOU. And, you are right, there are no guarantees. I also agree that a mastectomy is such a huge decision. I am still very confused about my "real risk" for cancer. I was told I have a 38% chance but when I dug into that I feel from my research that that number is just wrong. I have met with other doctors who have agreed with me. I may still be high risk but not nearly to that extent. I, like you had the initial reaction to cut them off...I wanted them gone. But, then I took some time to digest it and really think about what it meant and I have backed off of that decision, at least for now. I am currently working on a third opinion and will go from there.

Again, thank you for your post!!!!!!!

My mom passed away five years ago due to a very aggressive and terminal brain cancer. A cancer that by the way is in no way like breast cancer. While she was going through treatment I gave her this quote...and I love it!! I think this quote represents a lot of things in life. Hang in there runor....you've got this.

"I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!"

-Dr. Seuss

mamo picked up my 2+ cm tumor that was a palpable but it missed 2 others 1.6 and 1.8 as did US. I pushed for an MRI and that's what caught mine. Just be your own champion and if you have dense breast push for better screenings.

Best wishes for you

Rubyred3

I am BRCA2 positive, I found out after I had genetic testing (at 25) due to my mother being diagnosed with stage 3B inflammatory Breast cancer. She is 1 of 5 sister all of whom have had some bought with the disease (pre menopause). My Grandmother (moms mom) died from breast cancer as did my great aunt her sister. I have two cousins who have been diagnosed all before 40 & I at 38 have now found that I have Ductle carcinoma in the Situ. They found this at stage zero, no lump only micro calcifications that where not on my last mamo. I have been having mamos/ultra sounds & MRI done since i was 25 every 6 months to a year. I do believe early detection is possible if you are VERY diligent & I believe it is why I/they caught mine so early. If i had not done the geneitic testing I would not have been having the mamos or have been so diligent, it is a mixed blessing. At 25 I was told I had a 80-85% chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer by age 40... I'm 38 & will now do a bilateral mastectomy in a month I was planning on a prophylactic mastectomy next summer at 39 but didn't make it. When I got the news from my biopsy I was really regretful I didn't do this prophylactic prior ... But it seems I still have a lot of options with the O stage & because my cancer in non invasive DCIS. If I where to have a tumor that was invasive my options would significantly change.

Keep that in mind - This is only my experience, I wish you luck & I know your struggle, try to remember the knowledge you have does not mean a death sentence, that helped me to see the information instead of letting it consume me.

I need no scientist to tell me early screening and detection work. After having my typical screening mammogram we found incidence of DCIS and after the needle biopsy we found a small, small mass (.3 cm). We planned a lumpectomy and reconstruction on left breast and then reduction on right.

During surgery my surgeon found a second mass, same size. Diagnosis of the cancer? E-negative, P-negative, HER2- positive. Chemo and radiation come next.

The point is, screening works!

Good luck to all!

The great controversy of population based screening is that we are overdiagnosing those tumors that may not ultimately lead to mortality. Unfortunately, we do not have a good way of determining which ones will cause us trouble and which ones will not. Regarding "catching cancer early"... we are moving away from that frame of mind, despite what the radiology community might tell us otherwise. What the Yale researchers are telling us is that population based mammograms are doing a great job of finding small tumors that MIGHT do us no harm long term. I sincerely believe from the studies that I have been carefully following is that it is the DIAGNOSTIC mammograms that are saving MORE lives AND the tumors found in our younger brethren are the more troublesome. Furthermore, for those who are younger and have dense breasts, population based mammos miss those potentially serious tumors.

Bottom line...we need a better method of screening. I sincerely believe that imaging will be out of favor in a dozen years. I think blood markers will determine who will need imaging.THAT will be the way of hopefully "catching" tumors that will need aggressive treatment.

Finally, I am disappointed in BCO because they CHOSE not to link the latest New England Journal study. I think it is an important study that sisters need to know about and digest ESPECIALLY with respect to threads like this one

Minus..yes, I contacted them and asked them to link it. They said i could post the study if i wanted to. They said it wasn't worth posting under research and clinical trials because it wasn't according to their editorial team "a research item, but more of an editorial article, citing research." IMHO sisters NEED to know this info. Shouldn't this website be enlightening? At the very least, sisters should be aware of the mammography controversy....perhaps if more sisters knew how controversial population based screening mammography was, then perhaps they would demand better screening. Also, IMHO if the US followed the screening recommendations of Canada and Western Europe, then perhaps there would be more money available to find that better screening methods AND better treatments AND a cure. But we aren't going to get there unless this controversy is settled once and for all..

And most of the "not diagnosed" forum is not women who had a finding on a screening mammogram. It is women who have found some lump or change and have been referred for DIAGNOSTIC, not screening, imaging.

MT...The link you provide is NOT the New England Journal study that I was referencing. The one I refer to was published in the June 8, 2017 issue regarding Yale researchers. I read the article TWICE in my local library. Basically, what this study tells us is that we need to move away from the phrase of "catching cancer early" and the importance of population based screening. They are telling us that there needs to be a paradigm shift in how to understand cancer. What these researchers are telling us is that biologically and genetically, small cancers,so small, that are found on population based screening mammograms may be indolent and not harmful in our lifetimes. Likewise, what MelissaDallas touches on is the importance of DIAGNOSTIC mammograms and how they fit into the equation of catching cancer early....dr. Welch and others have stipulated that cancers found between routine population based mammograms are the mammograms that save the most lives....that message is confusing and frightful to some

darn, went to read that article and it's behind a paywall.

my local library, that doesn't carry it. When I worked as a health researcher at the Uni, I had access to everything. It is a rude awakening not to be able to read what I please.

we have a small library (Bozeman, Montana). I read as much as I want and is good for me. Sometimes, I actually have to stop reading bc bc bc, as I (and my interests) am better served when I expand my focus to a variety of topics My mantra these days is balance in all things. Some days I'm better at this than others. But I most certainly understand the drive to read and to know.

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/06/2...

They're using the mammaprint test to determine which patients can pass on chemo. My breast surgeon wanted to run it 7 years ago but my insurance wasn't willing to cover it. Unfortunately it's apparently not recommended if you get a second diagnosis of breast cancer.