Radiologist only disclosing results to 1 of 3 tests

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PinkPenguin76
PinkPenguin76 Member Posts: 8
edited December 2017 in Waiting for Test Results

I had mammogram and was called back for recall. 1cm mass/focal asymmetry found LOQ right breast. When I went back for recall they did two tests of breast: 2nd diagnostic mammogram plus ultrasound of right breast together... plus a third test: ultrasound of right armpit. While I was there, the lady doing ultrasound of breast and armpit told me right away that my armpit mass was just fat (lipoma?) and it was nothing to worry about. But she wouldn't say anything about breast. The place I go to has a feature where you can access your reports online through a patient portal 4 days from testing. I went in today and saw the test for my armpit was available for me to view...it said exactly what the lady doing the ultrasound told me... However, the two tests for my breasts were there, also - BUT I'm being blocked from seeing them. I called to ask why I was being blocked from seeing them and I got the run around and then was rudely met with "only your doctor can give you results." Makes no sense I can access the armpit report but not the breast. The patient portal also let's me see what code they gave to insurance. The first time they gave insurance a code of "screening (needed) for malignant neoplasm of right breast." I was under the belief all first-time mammograms are coded this way when suspicious mass is found and that it doesn't confirm malignancy... On the second breast test, the code they gave insurance was "incomplete." Does anyone know if this means that my BI-RADS could have gone up to 3, 4, 5, etc, but for insurance purposes it stays at incomplete? Or still Category 0? I'm losing my mind that they were willing to give me the negative reports but hiding the breast exam results from me. Anyone else experience this?


I should add: My breasts are mostly fat - so they should be really easy to "read." Old lady saggy titties 😂. But seriously my 1st mam listed them as mostly fat. Which adds to my confusion why so many delays.... Unless they're milking my insurance?



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  • Georgia1
    Georgia1 Member Posts: 1,321
    edited November 2017

    Sheesh. The place I go for my mammograms has the same rule; they won't tell me anything until the results go to my primary care doctor and she finds the time to call me. So annoying.

    Sending positive thoughts your way while you wait.

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  • PinkPenguin76
    PinkPenguin76 Member Posts: 8
    edited November 2017

    Thanks for the love. Ironically not long after I posted this thread the nurse from my doctor's office called to tell me that the diagnostic testing showed that my tumor is benign. Personally I think it's ludicrous for them to just dismiss it as benign without a biopsy - especially since everybody is aware of all the other symptoms I have including the possibility that I might have melanoma which means that this breast tumor may not be the primary... In fact I'm almost certain it's not the primary. Secondly, I have to wonder if they looked at the mass as if it was a primary cancer? Or if they took into consideration that it could be secondary? Currently I am awaiting a biopsy of a very suspicious mole on my shoulder that as soon as my doctor looked at it, he scheduled me for biopsy... He didn't even bother sending me to a dermatologist for consult first... he immediately gave me a referral for biopsy. Which I do on December 7th. So when I first went to my doctor before I was even told to have a mammogram, I went in there with the suspicion that I might have melanoma. His immediate referral for biopsy sure didn't extinguish those concerns of mine. The suspicious mole was there long before this tumor in my breast appeared, but ironically around the time that the mole started changing (which is sign of spreading), that was when a tumor in my breast started growing. I notified the Imaging place that I suspect it's a second cancer, but I don't think they took me seriously at all and I seriously don't think that they even looked at it as if it could be a second cancer. These people are pompous and act like we don't know our bodies... From all the reading that I'm doing online, melanoma that spreads to the breast is the sign of very late stage melanoma and the tumor that it creates doesn't look anything like a primary malignant tumor AKA a melanoma that has spread to the breast OFTEN looks BENIGN. They say in medical reports that metetastic cancers MIMIC benign tumors! So without a biopsy, they can't tell if it's melanoma spread to the breast or not. In other words, I'm just being dismissed. I hate to sound like I don't trust doctors... But I don't. I'm just a number in the system and they are busy and they want to move us along as quick as they can - especially in my shoes, where you're part of a government-funded medical system. So I see my doctor tomorrow and I'm going to keep pressuring him that I'm not satisfied yet. In fact all it does is make me have more questions. Until I get the biopsy of my shoulder for that suspicious mole I'm sitting here in the dark. I was hoping that the mammogram was going to give me results sooner so that they could see whether or not the mole was something to be concerned about but now I'm back at square one and the mammogram just wasted my time.

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  • Georgia1
    Georgia1 Member Posts: 1,321
    edited November 2017

    Sorry, that does sound frustrating as heck. But unless the mole has been suspicious looking for quite a long time, I would personally stay optimistic for now and wait to get that biopsy. Maybe you're lucky and both spots are benign. And if not, God forbid, a melanoma diagnosis would make you a priority candidate for an speedy MRI and you'd get some answers. All best wishes to you.

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  • PinkPenguin76
    PinkPenguin76 Member Posts: 8
    edited November 2017

    Yeah the mole started as a tiny thing almost 20 years ago. It was always odd looking and kept my skin tone. I dismissed it. Then about 5 years ago (big time guess) it started getting bigger and changing shape. Then a year, or 1 1/2 years ago, it started growing much faster and doubled in size growing a "second mole" off of it that stayed attached to it and the color changed to have 3 colors plus it literally fits ALL of the ABCD & E including the Pacman mole appearance that has recently been added to the ugly duckling symptoms. Now it looks like it may even be sprouting a third patch from it... I have an odd mole on my leg they need to look at 2. That one started about maybe 8 years ago? Where it look like a little pinkish red pimple really small... But over the years it has grown to be over a quarter of an inch and now it's kind of whitish pink very firm knob/dome that just sticks up with a red border. But when I was so worried about the mole on my shoulder I forgot to show the doctor my leg. So I figure when I go in for the biopsy on the 7th I'll show her that mole as well and see what she says. I'm very high risk for melanoma because I am (was) BIG time Tanner (like DAILY sun bather for HOURS...) never used sunscreen and a few times burned enough to blister. Plus fair skin that tans easy.... So I'm not taking this mole lightly anymore... Ever since that mole started the rapid changing in in last year or so, HUNDREDS of moles have popped up everywhere, some of them also very suspicious. Time will tell. I just know I'm not letting this boob thing go until I know for a fact there is nothing to worry about. I can't count how many stories I've read where women were told "benign" and then they found out from insisting months later or seeking second opinion that they are now at stage 3 or 4. Our medical field of science has a lot of holes. It's sad that the people who get the most results are the ones who have to keep insisting they know their bodies and that something is wrong. I'm hoping the MRI of my spleen shows something worth looking into as well but still waiting for referral to come in the mail to schedule.


    It sucks how I feel like I'm nothing more than a guinea pig for the system.

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  • stexas
    stexas Member Posts: 52
    edited November 2017

    I have access to the patient portal as well.All my test so far have locked me out 5 days after the test. It is grayed out so it is not clickable. I was told you can ask your Dr to put a check in the box to allow you access after they have talked to you. My Dr. had no idea what I was talking about. I hate that part of being locked out it drives me crazy because I am a need to know the facts type of person.I am assuming you can get a copy directly at the Drs office if you want it sooner but I have just waited my 5 days so I could print my report.

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  • MTwoman
    MTwoman Member Posts: 2,704
    edited November 2017

    PinkPenguin, I am sorry that you're here worried about your breast health on top of being worried about a potential melanoma. The changes to your mole do sound very concerning. IMO, focusing on that may get you the answers you need. If it is a biopsy proven melanoma, and does have characteristics of having spread, then they'll do imaging to investigate where. Different types of cancer have different typical mets patterns. For example " When melanoma spreads (metastasizes), it usually spreads first into nearby lymph nodes. It can also spread through the bloodstream. Distant metastases of melanoma typically are found in the skin, liver, lungs, bone, and brain. If the melanoma is on a leg or arm, metastases usually are first found higher up on that leg or arm." So breast isn't even where they'd typically expect to find mets. I am hoping you get answers soon!

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  • PinkPenguin76
    PinkPenguin76 Member Posts: 8
    edited December 2017

    ...actually I've done a lot of reading over past month and the breast is a very common place for melanoma to spread, especially when compared to the Mets of other cancers.

    I do thank you all for your feedback and kind hearts. I'm sorry it took so long to get back - just been so busy with tons of doctor visits and then there's that nasty fatigue I get...

    I was able to access my records eventually and was told that it's benign but it's not a standard tumor, rather they said it is abnormal intramammary node. Having found out it's abnormal node and not just random tumor makes me believe even more it's possible that it could be Mets but right now I'm still being given the "standard" evaluation: I have read that they instantly classify these as birads II. Instantly. Without further workup. Therefore they instantly say benign and dismiss you... (which is what they did for me... My path report said birads II. But the scary thing is I read a lot of medical reports (not just stuff online but search actual reports written by doctors from studies) and they say that of all the intramammary nodes they reviewed (that were dismissed as benign), 23% were actually malignant! Wow. 23% is not like saying 1-5% you know? So, paranoid or not, I am not dropping the issue and told my doctor I want biopsy. He didn't grant me biopsy but he did grant me MRI of both breasts... so I have to wait for my period to come around to schedule that appt, because, I guess it has to be done based on time around your cycle according to imaging place. The breast node affected on me is in the outer lower quadrant around 8 o'clock just 3cm from nipple.

    In the meantime, I was supposed to have growth biopsied on my shoulder on 7th, but the day of my appt, I was called and told doctor had family emergency and they rescheduled me for another 3 weeks down the road... Which means from the time I got referral ok to schedule, to the time I actually get seen for biopsy, it will be 9 weeks. Ugh. I'm trying to just remain positive that I am going to find out all is ok and it's not a cancerous mole but just some kind of keritosis... True or not I'm able to sleep at night with this thinking lol. I an going to try to get them to look at other suspicious areas on my body as well (one on back near shoulder blades on same side as breast lump and one on leg, also on same side as breast lump)...

    I will try to keep you guys posted... but in the meantime I might start different thread seeking feedback if anyone else was told abnormal breast node was benign only to find out differently down the line.

    Thank again everyone! Jesus is my rock.

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  • MTwoman
    MTwoman Member Posts: 2,704
    edited December 2017

    PinkPenguin, I am sorry that you're still seeking answers. I am surprised at your finding "23% were actually malignant" and am not finding anything that suggests the same. Please read more about what nodes look like here: https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/83/topics/860167?page=1#post_5089678 this actually shows how the nodes look in various stages of disease or lack thereof. And perhaps you can list some of the sources that you are using to come to that conclusion?

    I was also confused when you said " I have read that they instantly classify these as birads II. Instantly. Without further workup." never having heard people on these boards go from a BIRADS 2 to metastatic bc.

    I do hope you get answers soon, much of what you've written sounds very confusing to me and I am hoping you can get clarity soon!!

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  • PinkPenguin76
    PinkPenguin76 Member Posts: 8
    edited December 2017

    MTwoman... I addressed this in the other post. :) But I put some stuff in here I didn't mention in the other post that might make your jaw drop... Wait till you read below what lung specialist did to me today.... Ugh.

    I did get a little info from two diff articles mixed together and addressed that and posted text from 2 articles I found about intramammary nodes. One was about intramammary and one was about sentinel when I said 23%... but both had erily similar statistics... Please read that very detailed post. I'm still looking for the other articles. Because these studies go against everything doctors pass around from ancient studies, you can imagine finding new information (like the articles I researched a month ago) is like looking for a needle in a haystack.... Took me weeks of constant searching daily to find those back then... I wish I had bookmarked the pages! Note to self! And If doctors don't go to updating confrences (that aren't mandatory) they just keep peddling the old-school stuff again and again... Many don't. They figure they got their degree... No money in modern studies... That time is better used over-booking patients.

    Confusing to you? LoL imagine how I feel. Haha. I am part of the govt-funded medical system in California and medical care is a JOKE here. All they do is rape the state's insurance fund and stick everyone on antidepressants and tell them they have fibromyalgia! I hate to bring politics into it but I have suspicion it is part of the gun-grab... Because it gets put on record that you're on antidepressants (California already trying to take find me from people THEY seem has "mental health issues)...and guess what? Even for fibromyalgia, they try to get you to take antidepressants, saying "it also helps fibromyalgia." I know from experience - them trying to peddle antidepressants on me for years under "fibromyalgia" when I wouldn't accept their "you might be depressed" agenda - I'm a super-positive naturally energetic person... I handle stress very well and friends and strangers will describe me as "strong." They (doctors here) are full of it. It's horrible. They have no evidence I have fibromyalgia and I know I don't. I KNOW my pain is not nerve related... Even one test a doctor did I didn't meet all the criteria and he STILL tried to peddle fibromyalgia. As I told you in the other post they said my back pain was from fibromyalgia, yet was told after pushing the issue for years that it was NOT fibromyalgia they FINALLY said "oh, you have a twisted pelvis!" It was twisted in two ways, causing one leg to be an inch shorter than the other and making my foot twist outward when I walked... It was also causing lower disks to bulge pressing on the sacks between... But had the nerve to push fibromyalgia and antidepressants on me for years... And despite seeing back pain was legitimate, still continue to peddle fibromyalgia...

    I did address the "instantly being diagnosed as BR II" on the other forum topic you wrote on, and I was writing so much I failed to specify WHICH type of nodes (fatty helium) they do that to. All nodes with fatty helium (regardless of other abnormalities), are instantly diagnosed as BR II. Standard protocol... My node was abnormal in shape and size & is palpable, and they dismissed it, despite my other many symptoms (I mention in other topic post)... just because it had fatty helium - when masses that are from mets are often found to mimic benign tumors and keep the fat... Studies have even shown that mets to nodes (especially from melanoma) may not even make the node appear irregular at all and many kept their fat. I told them about suspicious moles, and how I had appt for biopsy, and they still refused to put THAT in my records and consider it when diagnosing. I demanded biopsy anyway and was ignored BUT doctor agreed to do breast MRI of both breasts... Again, feel like they are milking state insurance fund. I explained to doctors AND imaging place that I can tell my nodes in arms and neck are enlarged slightly - and hard - enough I can feel them with little effort - and I was ignored. My armpit nodes seem to be causing me pain (after a year of my armpit starting to feel matted it started pushing on nerves in past month or two), but they claim nothing wrong with them just because they did ultrasound of nodes on right side, then compared them to only ONE node on left (when left side is starting to show symptoms I have on the right) and called it a match. They weren't even going to do that much, but I kept insisting something just doesn't feel right... But the nodes in my arms are harder and bother me more... I even get faint to dark bruising around those nodes off and on. It's beyond bizare. They (arm nodes) have been waxing/waning for months now but neck ones only in past month. Antibiotics change nothing... I also am suspicious my pelvic nodes are also enlarged for years now. For years I keep pointing to outer pelvic region and every time they send me to woman's care to check my ovaries. I tell them every time it's NOT MY OVARIES and they dismiss me, even though where I show them where the pain is is nowhere near my ovaries... Unless I got the longest tubes/varies in the history of women... Spaghetti tubes! It's ridiculous! Told doctor and he told me he would refer me to MRI for abdominal AND pelvic view... but when I got there it was JUST for abdominal. So that didn't show any of the areas I pointed out to my doctor. It just showed the tennis ball sized cyst on my spleen (it trippled in size in past 2 years and now causes pain) that we already knew about... Sigh... They didn't bother to even check to see if there is a lymph issue going on... Im literally being ignored, but sent on wild goose chase... I even was sent to pulmonologist - a lung specialist - who guess what?... Tried to say I was stressed and needed to be on antidepressants (all he did was flash a light back and forth in my eyes for three minutes like he was trying to hypnotize me! I'm not kidding ! That's literally what he did saying weird things like "the eyes are a doorway to a person's soul" and saying other non-doctor-like weird things. Then he was talking to me like he was a ghost-whisperer or some crazy fortune-telling stuff. I'm not kidding, it was really creepy... and I was literally creeped out by the whole thing) - a lung specialist tried to peddle antidepressants on my FIRST visit with no testing done, except breathing into a machine a couple times; which DID show I have breathing problems...He told me things like "my eyes told him all this" while flashing the pen light back and forth... Back and forth... For a very long time... trying to get me to zone out. He also accused me of being a snorer with sleep-apnea. Seriously? Uh... No. I don't snore... Ask my family or ex-husband or past boyfriends... Although a few times I have been known to talk in a deep sleep when having a vivid dream... But what, maybe 10 times in 41 years? I have never been a snorer (unless I drank heavily going out to a club during 'those days,' and I don't drink for years now) - and I sleep through the night. I went there to make sure a professional saw my CT of lungs from ER... and instead THAT'S what I got. Garbage.

    However, I address in the other post why this is bad behavior (dismissing intrammammary node issues) based on articles I have read of cases/patient studies. Another thing I address in detail is I do NOT believe I have "breast cancer," rather, I believe I could be dealing with melanoma mets to breast. Could. I don't say it's a sure thing - just believe in 2nd/3rd opinions. However, because still waiting on mole biopsy (biopsies), doctors are only looking at "breast," ignoring the idea it could be mets to my nodes. Time will tell. I address this all in much greater detail in other post "intramammary node."

    It's been one helluva ride! In the end, it very well may be just several factors causing all my symptoms and not cancer at all... But I tell you one thing... If they come back at me with cancer down the road... I'm gonna stick a lawyer on their butts so fast they won't see what's coming, and make my son rich.... I'm going to start recording all my visits and requesting printout so I have comparison for what I tell them vs what little they put in my records.... Like being told I will get pelvic mri but receiving only abdominal, or like how I mention nodes in all my visits but no records show I mentioned it all all, or like how doctor told me he will send me to blood specialist but month later, still no referral (although they did send referral to kidney specialist in error, delaying treatment), or how I was sched for biopsy, but mysteriously doctor called me same day cancelling for family emergency and had NO other doctors that could do it instead, never sent me to dermatologist and IF I get biopsy at end of month, will have been 9 weeks I had to wait for biopsy - and was even told 4 weeks after I was told they sched me for biopsy, that "she might do it, she has to look at it" (she's not a dermatologist so wth? If she's not a dermatologist, she should only be doing procedures, like the punch biopsy I was told I would have and then later told "maybe"...not examinations - if they wanted a professional "opinion" and not a biopsy, they should have referred me to one)... Told I was getting biopsy then changed story and said "I don't know..." Total run-around. Big time. Starting to think doctors are of the devil.

    Thanks for your reply! <3

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