Freaking out. Breast MRI shows more potential tumors :(
So my tumor in my right breast was diagnosed Sept 11th. I have a great surgeon and I was prepared to start talking about having a lumpectomy with her today, but the breast MRI had I had done last week shows 1 spot in my left breast and another 1 in my right.
I'm freaking out. I now have to go in this week for 2 more biopsies.
The one I had was SO painful. I'm crying just thinking about having to do this again, in BOTH breasts.
She told me that sometimes MRIs show problems that aren't tumors, but I'm scared..what if I have more tumors?
Now it looks like I could be facing a bilateral masectomy instead of just a lumpectomy.
Has this happened to anyone else?
Comments
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I had to get a second biopsy pre surgery based on an MRI, and it ended up being benign. Hopefully yours will be too!!
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Thank you! I hope so too! I'm doing some research and finding out MRI results in a lot of false positives.
I just hate getting another biopsy. The last one was so painful
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I have done 3 MRI, three biopsies , it is better to catch them all
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Hi swg,
I was diagnosed with LCIS and ALH in September and was considering BMX because there were two suspicious areas in the right breast and LCIS puts the other breast at high risk. Like you, my experience with the biopsies were so awful (still have bruising and hematoma and felt much of the cutting - lidocaine didn’t work), I couldn’t imagine having to do that multiple times. Then my surgeon requested a pre-op MRI which showed a new area requiring an MRI guided biopsy and confirmed the recommendation for surgical excision of the other areas. That was enough for me to confirm my BMX decision. The surgeon agreed that I would otherwise face additional tests and possibly other treatments for invasive cancer.
It’s not an easy decision, but I’ve had so many biopsies in my day, I just can’t do more. I’d rather just reduce my chances as much as possible.
But like gb2115 said, MRIs find a number of false positives, so hopefully yours will be too
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yes this happened with me. We were all lined up for lumpectomy of calcifications in left breast seen on mammo and were suspicious after mammo guided biopsy. Radiologist stopped the lumpectomy the morning of and preferred MRI. MRI found tumor in right breast and confirmed suspicious calcifications in left. MRI guided biopsy was easier for me than the mammo guided one. I don't know if it's because of the different positioning of the breasts or what. Unfortunately, the mass in the right breast was IDC. Due to something going on in both breasts and high risk due to previous radiation therapy to the chest for childhood cancer I chose BMX w/ immediate natural tissue recon. Even without the high risk factor I would've chosen the same path as the stress from hypervigilant testing would've driven me crazy and caused a lot of unneeded stress. I hope you find out the additional masses are benign. We are here if you need us
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Thanks so much. As hard as it'll be to get 2 more biopsies. I think I'd rather know for sure if a BMX is totally necessary. I'm having a hard time even fathoming the possibility of losing both my breasts, at this point..
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swg:
My pre-surgical MRI showed another spot that turned out to be benign. So it happens.
GOOD luck.
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Will the biopsies be US guided? It's possible that the first one hurt so much because of the location or the person's technique. If I were you - I'd be sure to let them know how much pain you had last time and see if they can give you something besides just the local. Perhaps something to help you relax?
Hoping for good news ...
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My mammogram only found IDC in my left breast. Luckily I had an MRI which found 2 spots, one benign and the other wasDCIS in the right breast. I switched from lumpectomy to BMX and my BS told me that was the right decision.
Let me just say the MRI was the worst part of this whole deal and then they wanted to do MRI biopsies. Great, a torture chamber with needles! Then I heard the nurse mention she had to sedate a previous patient and I was like, wait, what? I can have sedation? Bring it on!!!! That Xanax made the whole thing a piece of cake. Only thing is they don't let you drive yourself home.
Two things I've learned: get good drugs, there's no reason to suffer and if they offer a warm blanket, take it. You deserve every bit of comfort you can get.
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Yes. They will be US guided. My surgeon explained that they will use ultrasound on the spots the MRI found. And if the US is suspicious, THEN they'll do the biopsies.
I think the previous biopsy hurt because the surgeon (who is now no longer my surgeon) didn't wait for the Novocaine to take effect before barreling into me. Apparently, one of my friends had her biopsy done at the same place, and had the same experience.
But when she switched to Penn, her subsequent biopsies were fine.
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LOL OMG you are so right. KNOCK ME OUT. Why should I have to suffer from any more pain than is absolutely necessary??
But yes you're right. If it came down to, they can do a lumpectomy and possibly MISS SOMETHING..of course, I'd rather know if I have more than 1 tumor so I can get everything taken out and just replace it with implants. Survival is the most important thing.
Just..sucks.
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This also happened to me. It was quite the shock at first, so I completely understand how you're feeling. I, too, had a painful first biopsy, so when I went in again I specifically requested extra numbing medication. With that, there was no pain. Remember, you are in charge of everything done to your body, so you can ask them to stop if it's hurting too much.
I ended up having IDC in both breasts, so that changed my treatment plan some. It took a while to wrap my head around the news, but once I did I was fine. Also, as you'll see in my signature line, even though I had multiple tumors, all of them were low risk so I didn't need chemo. Having more than one tumor doesn't automatically mean that you are worse off.
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swg....so sorry you are going through this. I was in a similar situation. A routine 3D mammo found a small IDC tumor. I was scheduled to have a lumpectomy until I had a pre op MRI. It showed 5 more suspicious areas that had to be biopsied! Only one out of five were malignant and it was ILC. So if I hadn't had IDC, they never would have found the ILC. So the moral of the story is yes, MRIs many times have false positives, but they are the best screening tool, especially for dense breasts. Good luck and keep us posted.
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Yup..that's another concern. My current tumor is ER+/PR+, HER-
My concern is these new tumors might not have the best characteristics. then again, if they're cancer, I'd get both my breasts removed anyway. So it's kind of a moot point.
If they weren't found in the mammogram, that must mean they're pretty small, right?
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Thanks dtad. That's what i'm finding out.
I'm so sorry they found FIVE suspicious areas. Did you have to get all 5 biopsies at once?? How sore were you????
OWWWW, just thinking about it is killing me
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Swg- hoping all comes back fine on your additional biopsies. Should you need to go the BMX route, know that immediate recon with natural tissue or with implants is possible. Skin and nipple sparing surgical options are also available. You go into surgery with breasts and you come out of surgery with breasts. things have come a long way when it comes to MX and recon
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Thank you! Yup. That's exactly what my surgeon is talking about--doing the reconstruction at the same time she does the mastectomy
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Here's another question..if I have no lymph node involvement, but end up having a bilateral reconstruction..does this mean I don't need chemo? Or hormone therapy? Cuz my breasts would basically be gone, right? Or is there still tissue that could get cancer..?
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My pre mastectomy MRI showed two more invasive tumors in one breast that had been missed in mammograms. It also showed lots of fibrocystic changes all of which were benign. It's definitely better to know pre op what's going on.
Swg... whether you need chemo or radiation will depend on whether your nodes are clear, whether the surgeons get good margins of all tumors , risk factors you may have, the genetics of the tumors as shown on oncodx testing , and your own genetic testing. I'm pulling foryou!
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Thanks! Yeah, at least i know one of the answers to those questions..I already got the genetic testing, and my surgeon said I was negative for everything. Sounds like it was a very extensive test.
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And also, as I'm doing research, it looks like since I'm ER+/PR+, I might still need hormone therapy in case any cancer cells migrated.
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This is all so overwhelming, and so much to take in and learn.
I'm so glad I found this site!!
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you and I sound like we have similar clinical pictures. I had 3 invasive tumors and many sites of dcis on one side and just Lcis on the other. I had no choice about mastectomy on the more cancerous side but I opted for bilateral mastectomy. I did not need chemo or rads but I'm on tamoxifen because I'm premenopausal.
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So..like me, you started out with just 1 tumor, then found out you had 3? Did you also have an MRI?
I just wonder..how does this happen? I guess that's a question nobody can answer yet.
I eat relatively healthy. I don't get as much exercise as I should..but up until a few years ago, I did exercise regularly. I never smoked. I dunno..you try to live a healthy lifestyle and get cancer anyway.
And now I might have more than 1 tumor. I just don't get it.
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yeah I don't get it either. I just read an article in prevention magazine that said most cancers are just a mistake in cell duplication. Just a random mutation.
Mammogram isn't all that sensitive in picking up changes, especially the old fashioned kind I got. MRI shows everything that's in there but then you're left with the task of sorting out what is benign and what isn't. My mammogram showed one suspicious area in a breast that turned out to have 3 invasive tumors and more dcis. Go figure.
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My mammo showed nothing. Nada. Zilch. US got it - because I was pointing out the palpable lump. Which is not typical for ILC. So good thing, I guess. MRI showed it and more fully gauged the size.
To try and help answer your questions, NO Chemo question for me was dependent upon small tumor size, no lymph node involvement and a lower Oncotype score (14). You're ER/PR+, so guessing you will definitely be recommended Tamoxifen or AI, depending upon your stats and what your MO feels will work best for you. I'm on Tamox.
So all the information coming in -- which sucks and causes anxiety to have to wait for -- will determine your treatment path. Some you may not know until surgical pathology. It's a time of forced patience...and it's hard. Hang in there, do your research. Every day brings more knowledge and a sense of empowerment. Or it did for me. With a plan in place, this will get better.
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So sorry...it stinks waiting and worrying and then worrying about possibly more. Of course you would rather know that the other side is clean before making a decision on what to do. Mri's are known for false positives when it comes to this so try to stay positive. I opted for a BMX because I just could not fathom going through the anxiety every 6mths of surveillance on the good boob which was not even a good boob..I had so many biopsies on my left for years and what I thought was my good boob the right, is the one that turned out to be harboring cancer. I felt like I would be just living 6mths to 6mths. Mine was not found on Mammo. On ultrasound it was and was fairly small at 7mm. ILC which is a sneaky growing one that like EastcoastTS said is usually not palpable. My nodes were also clean and Oncotype came back at 9 so risks outweighed the benefits with chemo for me.
I do take Tamoxifen which I've been on for the past month as hormonal therapy to help prevent recurrence.
I hope your biopsy proves negative and you can start on a plan to take care of this all and move on.
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Thanks everybody. So, the Dr who did my biopsy seemed pretty sure the other tumor on the right was cancer
Although, I won't know for sure til the biopsy results come back, either tomorrow or Monday.She thought the left side was ok, as the margins were solid, and it was a barely perceptible blip on the US.
THe biopsy was still painful as h&ll even though I told them about the prior one, and they even had extra lidocaine. I just must be super sensitive or something
I was trying not to cry when she made it sound like this really is a 2nd cancer in the same breast. I just can't believe this is happening.
The 2nd potential tumor is at 3 o'clock. My original tumor is at 12 o'clock. They're not even close to each other. I need to talk to my surgeon but I can't imagine they could conserve my breasts, having to take 2 tumors out. The Dr I saw today said she thinks it's a 1 cm mass.
I don't know if my BS can do a mastectomy on the right breast, reconstruct it, and have it look the same as the left? I'm honestly more concerned about looks, than feeling--which I guess you lose in a bilateral mastectomy--just because I'm a model. So it's important.
I'll post once I find out about the biopsy results.
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swg....yes I had all 5 biopsies at once and it wasn't that bad. MY RO also thought most looked like cancer and only 1 was. So do not give up hope!
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Swghoping you get good news today or Monday!
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