Seeing breast surgeon July 3rd -- really scared!

I am so sorry to hear this. Oh, I know what torture the waiting brings. Do you feel comfortable asking your family doc for some anti-anxiety medication like Ativan? It's for short term, but will maybe help you feel calmer over the weekend. I am saving mine for the excisional biopsy I know is happening in a month or two for me. But my MD was understanding and helpful in giving it to me right after my stereotactic biopsy. I did keep super busy all the time until I got the pathology result last evening. It helped. I am sending my very best for calm and peace for you as you go through your appointments.

I was in a similar situation last November and ended up being diagnosed at age 41. I was angry, stunned and cried a lot for the first couple weeks but once a plan was in place, things got better. Considering the size of your lump and how quickly it grew, I would recommend meeting with an oncologist before committing to surgery, if it does turn out to be cancer. We can't help worrying but never forget that you are stronger than you think.

Sorry you're going through this and best of luck! This waiting game is the worst.

Tapestry: I second what Illimae said.  If needed, get yourself a medical oncologist (MO) and possibly a second opinion before jumping in with both feet.  You will want to know all of your options and all of the risks before you finalize your treatment plan.  I know that the waiting is hard.  If the diagnosis is cancer, your instinct will be to remove the tumor as soon as possible.  But it might be best to consider neo-adjuvant chemo first.  Your MO will help you to understand what is best for you based on the biopsy pathology.  Keep breathing.  If the diagnosis is cancer, one more week of research won't change the outcome; but you will feel better in the long run for making confident decisions.  I'm sending virtual hugs your way.  Take care, and let us know how things turn out.

tapestry, if you are considering reconstruction of any kind, you will also want to meet with a plastic surgeon (PS) prior to surgery. It is very common for these initial consultations (some people seek 2nd opinions for different specialists) to take a few weeks, so don't let that deter you. Many women feel an immediate need to have a surgeon get it out! I did too. But getting initial consultations with your team and making a treatment plan that takes into consideration your personal risk profile (your bc specifics, age, genetic and/or family history, other health conditions) as well as your preferences and your risk tolerance is important! Most women here have a period of some weeks before they have a treatment plan together as they have additional imaging and consultations with other experts (MO, RO, PS). Resist the urge to rush, take a few days to understand what your diagnosis is, then collect your questions and begin building your team. You can do this!

Bummer about your diagnosis, Tapestry, but you still have options. Whether to have surgery (and sentinel node biopsy) first and then proceed with whatever adjuvant treatment is necessary, or do neo-adjuvant chemo would likely depend on your tumor's HER2 status, as HER2-targeted therapies are given with chemo. And your doctors could see if the chemo is working or if a different “cocktail" needs to be tried. If HER2-neg., the decision would have to be made as to genomic testing on the tumor (OncotypeDX, MammaPrint or Prosigna) to determine its aggressiveness and the likelihood that it would be so vulnerable to chemo that the benefits would outweigh the risks. (That's what your doctor means when she says she's waiting to find out “more information"). There are instances of tumors as large as yours, and grade 3, coming back with low or low-intermediate OncotypeDX scores or “low-risk" w/in the parameters of MammaPrint or Prosigna (which have no “intermediate risk" category).

Because your maternal grandma had breast cancer, genetic counseling and testing for mutations would be a good idea, especially if you are Ashkenazi Jewish (which increases the chances of inheriting BRCA1 or 2 mutations). The fact that your grandma had a bilateral mastectomy might not be as relevant as you think, as it used to be routine standard-of-care--lumpectomy was uncommon as recently as the late 1980s. But if you test positive for one of those mutations (or others related to increased risk of aggressive breast cancer), bilateral mastectomy and perhaps oophorectomy might be prudent.

Talking with a surgeon will lay out your options, and the timetable for what happens and when (MRI can report if lymph nodes look hinky, but it can't diagnose what if anything is in them); you might be able to get a sentinel node biopsy without removing the primary tumor, in case your team needs to know node status before making surgical or neoadjuvant chemo decisions.

You need to assemble a team: breast cancer surgeon, oncoplastic breast surgeon if you decide you want reconstruction, medical oncologist to drive all your care other than surgery and radiation (if needed), and radiation oncologist to plan and administer radiation should that be necessary.

Breathe deeply and read all you can here on BCO's treatment & diagnosis articles, as well as the American Cancer Society and Komen Foundation websites, Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book (and a similar volume by Dr. Elisa Port). Don't Google until you know exactly what you're dealing with. You don't want confusing and conflicting information, especially being scared by worst-case scenarios that will likely never occur. Catastrophizing does a person no good.