Found a nodule and density

Stay off if google, spend time with your son, play games, get a few new books, go for walks, do some fun crafts... anything to distract yourself.

Hoping it is benign

Hi MomofBaa!

I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this. But the first thing to do is calm down. You're still in the well-woman screening process. That you've been called back doesn't necessarily point to something bad, just that your docs need to find out what your "nodule/density" is...or perhaps more importantly, what it isn't.

The process of evaluating the various sorts of findings is a step-by-step process where each step is intended to rule out cancer for a large portion of the women at that step. Here's a diagram showing the screening process from the Imaginis site:

I think it's helpful. On the above diagram, note that your goal is to fail to be advanced farther "up" the diagram. Each one is a narrower group of people.

Since you have no prior studies to compare your screening mammogram to, it is not unusual to be asked back. Many mammogram centers warn people having their first mammogram that call-backs are more frequent for first-timers.

At any rate, of the women who have a "Diagnostic Workup" (what your ultrasound will be in the chart's terminology), 75% will either be returned to routine follow-up or asked to have another follow-up in a shorter time span (usually six months). Only 25% will be sent on for a biopsy, and of that 25%, 80% will have a benign result. That is, of 100 women having a diagnostic workup, 25 will have a biopsy and of that 25, only 5 will be told that they have a cancer. So it is not likely that you have cancer.

Every woman who is called back has the same fears. And in each case, her doc needs to "rule out" BC.

There's no reason to think you're in the 25%--or in the 20% of that 25%. There's a thread titled "Anxiety" by MTwoman which has some good ideas about how you can manage your anxiety while you wait for your next steps in the well-woman screening process.

Do you know what your BIRADs score was on your mammogram? Do you have a copy of the reports from the mammogram that was set to your doctor? (Not the "patient letter"--you want the actual report, which might offer you some additional information.)

Once you have the report, if you have questions about the report that don't get answered by your docs, come back and tell us what it says, and we may be able to help...

So your odds for a B9 result are really good at this point.

Best wishes!

HTH,

LisaAlissa