WENT FOR MAMMOGRAM.AREA OF CONCERN IN LEFT BREAST

I don't know what the report(s) said yet but the radiologist was there and she came into the ultrasound room with the technician and put the ultrasound wand on my left breast and they were looking at the screen and at each other. Then she said some things I didn't fully understand, she said it was about 1 cm. I put my hand over the spot where they indicated it was and she said, "(you cannot feel it.") I always thought that breast cancer would be felt as a lump. (guess I was wrong). I asked her if it what the word she said that I didn't understand meant 'spiculated' and I believe she said yes. I was so shocked my mind went pretty blank. She also mentioned that it could be from a bruise or something, I don't remember..? Maybe she was reluctant to say that it was definitely malignant looking, idk. My husband was in the waiting area, he was not called in to be with me when I was given this information. I was then told to get dressed and they escorted me out by myself. When me and my husband about 20 min. later got home my ob/gyn called me on my landline and said to schedule a biopsy. I should mention I had taken about a half milligram of xanax due to my extreme nerves (it was prescribed for my spinal stenosis symptoms to help with muscle spasms) and I think my mind wasn't as sharp as it usually is. I am scheduled for the biopsy on Weds. next week and frankly I am terrified.

I already have severe lumbar spinal stenosis and have a very difficult time walking. I don't have any real friends, I lost all of my friends when I became nearly non ambulatory at age 51, I can only walk with the aid of a cane and I walk very slowly due to weakness in my feet and lower extremities. So most people don't want to hang out with me because I can't keep up with people my age. My husband is the sole breadwinner. I cannot work, I am disabled from my spine problem. We also have a developmentally disabled adult child. (high functioning autistic). He works at a p.t. retail job and can drive but is a sensitive person, he also suffers from frequent migraines for which he takes triptan medications every 2-3 days. He had a brain hemorrhage at birth, his intelligence is about average but he is developmentally like a teenager of about 16. He is our only child. Needless to say I am now terrified. Have a very bad feeling about this. (had a sister who died from uterine leiomyosarcoma 15 years ago at a young age of 40). Meanwhile I had two grandmothers who lived to age 89 and a mother who is 81 who has never had any issues with cancer (except for some basal cell carcinoma skin cancer which was removed and cured years ago).

thanks for all your replies, I was so shocked when I started reading the stories on this site. I mostly read about my other health problem (spinal stenosis) on other websites. I should have been paying more attention to this topic since it is so serious.

Got my reports as follows:

Targeted breast ultrasound: left

Clinical history: Architectural distortion 12:00 on screening mammography

Real time examination of the area of concern demonstrates a very subtle area of hypodensity and acoustical shadowing in the area of mammographic concern at 12:00 approximately 4 cm deep to the nipple. this is best seen with the patient sitting erect. Ultrasound guided biopsy is recommended.

IMPRESSION: Subtle area of shadowing at 12:00, 4 cm deep to the nipple corresponding to the area of mammographic concern.

Birads 4: Suspicious.

Thanks for your reply, djmammo, can you explain in very plain English what it means? Does 4 cm deep to the nipple mean that it is 4 cm in size or 4 cm away from the nipple? And what is "acoustic shadowing" ?? I have no medical background at all. Thank you so much for your help.

Thanks for answering so quickly, djmammo. I read both of the reports and they are very overwhelming. I also have some cysts in my right breast that the US technician said were 'okay'. But when I read the report it stated that is was Birads 3. I'm not sure if they are going to biopsy some of these cysts that were seen in the right breast. I will try to type this out accurately, my typing skills are no longer top notch.

EXAM: US BREAST BILATERAL LIMITED

TARGETED BREAST ULTRASOUND: RIGHT

CLINICAL HISTORY: Pain medial right breast and indeterminate density at 9:00 on mammography, posterior third of the breast.

Real-time examination of the area of concern demonstrates no sonographic abnormality in the area of clinical concern in the medial breast.

In the retroareolar region, a 1.5 x 0.7 x 1.2 cm simple cyst is identified with mulitiple adjacent clustered cysts. Together the area measures 2.1 x 1.9 x 1 cm. This is of low index of suspicion. At 9:00 in the area of clinical concern, a complex septated cyst measures 0.7 x 0.5 x 0.6 cm and is of low index of suspicion.

IMPRESSION: Simple and complex cysts in the retroareolar region and at 9:00 in the area of mammographic concern. These are of low index of suspicion and can be followed sonographically in 6 months time.

Ultrasound-guided biopsy is recommended.

BI-RADS 3: Probably Benign.

********

Do you think they will a biopsy on these cysts in the right breast on the same day as the biopsy on the architectural distortion area in the left breast? And then they will follow up in 6 months time with another sonogram?

I posted part 2 of the US exam first, which was the one for TARGETED BREAST ULTRASOUND: LEFT (in above post).

Thanks again djmammo for your timely help!

Okay djmammo, Thanks again for all of your replies and insights. I will let you know what happens when I get the results.

jenndenino578

I just re-read what I put above and I'm not sure if I'm misinterpreting what I read/wrote. I have no medical background so I don't know much about these things.

jenndenino

Went for my appointment to breast specialist in Brooklyn. The breast specialist (surgeon) reviewed my slides in their pathology dept, feels the condition is benign. He is sending them to MSK for "another opinion." He doesn't want to do unnecessary surgery because he thinks the scar tissue which results might obscure any future malignancy on future mammograms. (He got his training at MSK and is the head of the breast center I was referred to in Brooklyn.) So I'm still a bit in limbo but at least the news is positive.

jenndenino

Thanks for your reply Egads007.

I'm happy that the news seems good but I'm still nervous. I have generalized anxiety disorder, along with lumbar spinal stenosis which makes it hard for me to walk without a cane and sometimes I have to use 2 canes due to my foot weakness in both feet unfortunately. The spinal stenosis has made me really neurotic due to my lack of mobility and has completely destroyed my self esteem due to my disability at a fairly young age. I don't know if I could deal with having bc. I don't even drive a car much anymore due to extreme anxiety! I only drive very short distances around my neighborhood rarely more than 3 miles from my house. On the positive side I told my 80 year old mom to go get her mammogram and she did last week. She made sure to get a 3D mammogram and they called the next day and told her that everything was okay, nothing unusual was seen. She had previously only had the 2D mammograms. My mom has Crohn's disease and had almost died a few years ago from an intestinal blockage. She has a lot to deal with with that disease unfortunately. I also have noticed a change in her mentally, she probably is showing early signs of dementia unfortunately. My family history also includes having had a sister who was diagnosed with uterine leiomyosarcoma at age 37 and we unfortunately lost her just weeks before she turned 41. We have no idea how that happened, I ask every ob/gyn doctor I see what possibly could have caused her to get that. Her early death also added to my anxiety disorder, plus having to see her have to deal with such a terrible disease.

I also have had two benign dermoid tumors removed from both of my ovaries, the first one was at age 19 for the first one where they removed my ovary and at age 51 for the second one which they just removed the dermoid. But the first one at age 19 probably is what put me into having anxiety for most of my life which has only been getting worse over the years as the dermoid (which they called a teratoma at the time) was very large and I was traumatized having it removed although I had a complete recovery. They seriously thought that I had cancer, luckily it was benign. this was in the late 70's before the MRI machine was invented, they only had CT scans back then, I think. Then they found the second one when I was 51 but it was a much smaller size and I had it removed via laprascopy. It was also benign but the doctor pretty much knew it was going into the surgery due to having an MRI w/ contrast scan. He found it due to doing an transvaginal ultrasound in his office ahead of time. Now I have these ultrasounds annually to check for anything abnormal.

I also lost my dad at an early age, he suffered a massive heart attack and died in his early 50's. That was in the early 80s. I feel that the doctors didn't know what they were doing. Plus my dad neglected his health, didn't go for regular checkups. But it's a long story. Medical science has come a long way since then.

I think if I could exercise a lot more it would help my anxiety, the most I can do is ride an exercise bike and walk around in my yard on the lawn which is exercise for my foot strength. It doesn't seem to be helping though. I really need a back operation to free my sciatic nerves from the pressure of the narrowing of my spine, bone spurs and a small disc herniation in my lumbar spine. And as bad as that is it isn't nearly as terrifying to me as having bc. But I am thankful for the breast doctor where I was referred to and feel very fortunate that he thinks the lesion in my breast in completely benign. I'm trying not to dwell on it too much. I do feel very lucky after reading some of the other people's stories on this site. I hate cancer and pray for a cure for this terrible disease.

thanks for your support,

bless you,

jenndenino

I'm so aggravated, I went for my MRI last week on May 17, 2018 and was told by the MRI technician right after the test that the results would be back in 5 days. I called the hospital where I had it done yesterday (May 24th) and left a message for them to get back to me.

Called again this morning (May 25th) and the receptionist (?) told me that the doctor was not in today and will get back to me on Tuesday as per the P.A. (his assistant). For some reason she couldn't tell me this information herself, instead she relayed it to the person who answers the phone!

This cannot be a usual practice from a breast center. Why is it taking so long to get the results?

My doctor lives about 3 miles from my house, I feel like driving over to his house to see what's going on.