So, so, so afraid. Advice would be appreciated

An ultrasound guided biopsy is useful when what they want to biopsy is small and hard to find. It also helps the doctor to biopsy the right spot vs missing because he/she can't see.

I know nothing about your symptoms but did want to attempt to allay any concern you had about "ultrasound guided."

If you can, please call a friend to come and be with you.

Good for you for advocating for yourself and taking charge of your health. Get that biopsy scheduled ASAP. Once your doctor’s office makes the appointment, if it is too many days away, call yourself and get it moved. Mine was the day after my mammogram and ultrasound. Do as many things as you can to distract yourself this weekend because waiting is hard. And if you need Ativan, by all means, go to Urgent care to get some!!!

You CAN do this

80% of biopsies are benign.

Focus on your studies as best you can to distract yourself. I know that is easier said than done, because waiting is excruciating. I have had many biopsies, and they never get easier. I understand. You have to train your mind to focus on other things. Worrying does not change the outcome. Try to get in the mindset that you will deal with whatever comes your way. Because you will. You csn

Hi Jess, based on the description you provided, there isn't much to worry. I am surprised they want to do the biopsy instead of a 6 months follow up. Perhaps your doctor is more cautious than most. Sorry for all the trauma you have to go through, for what is most likely to turn out to be benign.

I had an itch on the nipple of my good breast for 10-15 years. My GP said is most likely a fungus or bacteria that took residence in the skin crevices there and is hard to clean up.

Finally, being in grad school doesn't let you with much free time to be outside, and perhaps your vitamin D level has plummeted. When this happens me I get both bone and muscle pain. If the pain doesn't go away, perhaps you could ask you GP to test vitamin D levels.

Good luck with your exams!

Hi

It sounds like it's not cancer as stated there are no malignant features-benign. You should be glad about this. It's still worth getting your own copy of the biopsy report. I usually ask for a copy if not provided at my appointments. I figure that the least the doctor can do is print me out a copy but if not, you'll have to access it through medical records.

Nothing the radiologist said sounds like cancer. Not a thing

The biopsy is going to identify whether it's a complex cyst or a fibro.

If anything, his idea to have it biopsied to "put your mind at ease" did just the opposite, since you do suffer from panic attacks/anxiety disorder. It's unfortunate that was such a powerful trigger for you.

"It is likely a fobroadenoma, or a complex cyst, and the biopsy is just to verify and confirm the benign nature of it."

Remember that sentence your doctor wrote. The biopsy is to confirm that it's benign. They do not suspect cancer. At all.

DATNY, wirh all due respect, NO, her vitamin D level doesn't change the main problem for Jess that she has severe anxiety and panic disorder which prevents her from accepting the reality that the doctors believe she has a benign condition and are just being prudent in confirming that by biopsy.

I did not think about anxiety when I wrote that, I was thinking about the plethora of diseases that low vit D can bring in later on.

But, since you mentioned it, I realized that normal levels of vit D may indirectly improve anxiety symptoms too. At least in my case it did that, by helping my thyroid function. There is a strong link between vit D and thyroid. Thyroid disease symptoms, which can be present even when blood work is normal, include high anxiety. That can be very severe. I think worrying about a lump is legit; in my case I suddenly had difficulties driving across a bridge among many others unfounded worries.I never took anxiety pills for that, just worked on my vitamins and lifestyle and eventually it completely went away.

Jess,

I have GAD with panic disorder for which I take Klonopin because I can’t handle other psychotropics. I’m a former university professor and know well the stress of exams — I certainly experienced it myself and saw it in my students. Were I you, I’d postpone my exams: I doubt any reasonable person would fail to understand the stress of waiting on a biopsy and facing exams. If need be, go to your advisor and explain.

Secondly, try to focus on the positive: your docs are being thorough and cautious which is good. When I saw my PCP on an emergency basis, I was scheduled for a mammogram the next day. It was the day before Thanksgiving. The radiologist read my mammogram and immediately did an ultrasound. Although I had been told that they were not doing any biopsies that day, I was told to go home and come back in a hour for a biopsy. Before the biopsy was even submitted to be read, I was told I had IBC. And this all happened in a tiny town with minimal healthcare options. I’m telling you this because your radiologist seems to be on the ball. He’s told what he’s seen and it sounds like he’s pretty responsive. My sense is that if he’d seen anything he didn’t like you would’ve already had the biopsy. From everything you written, you likely have a benign spot. In other words, your docs are doing the right things and I dare say that if they thought it wasn’t benign they would be responding much more aggressively.

As to the vitamin D stuff. Around our mid to late 20s, we start to lose bone density. D3 plays a big role in how your body processes calcium. The CDC suggests taking calcium citrate (specifically) with D3 and to take it in the afternoon. Since your vit C was also low, you might consider also taking a multivitamin. D3 is absorbed from sunlight which as a grad student I’ll bet you rarely see. And as you know, grad school is a very draining experience. Medical studies have shown that grad students do not get enough excerise, sleep, or essential vitamins. In effect, grad school is like having a low-grade infection. My grad school, Hopkins, has a tradition wherein every significant paper one writes is submitted to the entire department which then meets, en masse, to grill you about it for 2-3 hours. By the time I finished grad school, I was overly aggressive and seeing both a shrink and a psychologist. In desperation, I started working out, doing yoga, running, and used a special light for Seasonal Affective Disorder. I also revamped my diet. All of that actually helped to ameliorate my GAD.

The moral of this overly long post is that you are stronger than you know, that you do not need to try to wait out the biopsy and take your exams, that taking care of yourself is critical, and that, if I’ve survived 40 years of panic attacks, such attacks will not kill you. Ease up on yourself, trust that you can survive this time of abnormal stress.

wishing you the best

bride

Jess, - "smooth and round" does NOT sound malignant. I know it's difficult, but TRY to keep your imagination from running away! In my experience (unfortunately I have had many biopsies), the drs were pretty sure when I had a malignancy after seeing my sono/mammo, even before the biopsies (and told me so).

Think GOOD thoughts and go study for your exams! This is a inconvenient hurdle. You will feel SO much better after the biopsy!!

Hugs from NYC