diagnostic mammo & u/s -- now waiting for biopsy

Hello! I've been lurking here for a few days, and I wanted to go ahead share my story. I had a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound this past Thursday (7/5), and my biopsy is scheduled for 7/16. I am trying not to obsess about it, but it's hard! Hoping that getting it off my chest (sorry for the pun) will help...

I had a regular screening mammogram last November, and everything was normal. In January, I had my regular annual exam with my gyno -- including a breast exam, and she didn't notice anything unusual. Over the last few months, I have noticed that my breasts felt more tender than usual -- but I have gained some weight over the last year, so I wasn't concerned. I figured it was either because my boobs had gotten a little bigger, or because I got a new Mirena IUD in January and my body was adjusting.

But at the end of June, I noticed that my right breast was much more firm than the left, and the top of the breast was more full. While my left breast is pretty soft and squishy, my right is very firm -- it actually feels like there is an implant in it! Looking at it in the mirror, I noticed that my right nipple appears to be set farther back than the left, and the veins beneath my skin are more visible on the right than on the left. This was just after my period. It seemed unusual, but I decided to give it a week to see if it got any better.

There was no change after a week, so I called to schedule an appointment with my gyno. When I explained what was going on, the scheduling nurse she transferred me to the breast center instead. The nurse at the breast center was very nice -- she took down my history and got me scheduled for a bilateral diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound of the right breast 3 days later (7/5), and for a follow-up appointment with the doctor the following Monday (7/9). I wasn't terribly concerned -- I just thought it was a big cyst!

So I had the mammogram and ultrasound on Thursday (7/5). Mammo first, then u/s. After the ultrasound technician was finished, she explained that the radiologist would come in to talk with me, and that she may want to take another look. The radiologist came in, and she did want to take another look -- she turned the screen so I could see what she was looking at. She confirmed that there was an "ill-defined" mass in my right breast, and then she showed me my mammo images, which showed calcifications that had not been present on my images last November, and that appeared to be in the same location as the mass. She recommended a biopsy. She asked if I had any questions -- I wish I had been looking at this forum in advance of my appointment! I would have had so many questions! But because I wasn't expecting them to find anything suspicious, I didn't really prepare, and I didn't know what to ask.

The ultrasound technician then gave me a written summary of my preliminary results, and told me that the office would call me the next day to schedule a biopsy. The preliminary report is not very detailed -- it is basically just a form letter with a couple of blanks filled in, and items circled or checked. It does say that once the report is finalized, it will be sent to my provider and to my electronic record. I have put in a request for a copy of my records for this visit, so hopefully I will get it soon. So here's what's in the summary:

• the form header says "BIRADS 4-6" (so I'm guessing this is the summary form they use for anyone in that range... I assume this means I'm either 4 or 5 -- don't know which one!)
• "today's exam(s): diagnostic mammogram -- BOTH; breast ultrasound -- RIGHT"
• "based on a review by our radiologist, your preliminary results are abnormal: MASS -- RIGHT"
• "recommended next step(s): Follow up with the breast center fir a biopsy, consultation, and/or management of your breast problem(s)"

The nurse called me yesterday to schedule the biopsy -- it will be on 7/16 -- and the follow-up visit that was initially scheduled for 7/9 was cancelled (since I will be getting a biopsy instead).

The breast continues to be quite swollen, and it is painful, like a dull ache. Yesterday I discovered a swollen lymph node on the side of my neck -- it's about the size of a pea -- also on the right side. I'm trying not to freak out -- I know it could be almost anything causing a swollen lymph node! But with the timing and location...

I am 41 (almost 42), and married with no children. I have a strong family history of cancer on both sides -- although very little cancer (so far) in my first degree relatives. Among first degree relatives, my dad had prostate cancer at age 68 (successfully treated with surgery, I am happy to report!). My mom ended up dying at age 64 from a stroke -- so no cancer. I have 1 brother -- no cancer for him (so far). Among second-degree relatives... on my mom's side: grandmother had breast cancer in her late 40s -- she survived, but it returned in her early 60s and she died; grandfather had bladder cancer and lymphoma, but died from congestive heart failure; one aunt died at age 18 from a cancer that originated somewhere in her abdomen -- this was in the early 1970s, and it had spread by the time it was detected, so they did not know where it originated; other aunt died from pancreatic cancer at age 59; one uncle still living -- no cancer. On my dad's side: grandfather died from colon cancer at age 48; grandmother survived breast cancer in her 70s, with radiation and lumpectomy -- no chemo (she ultimately died from Alzheimer's); one uncle survived prostate cancer in his late 50s -- he is still living; one aunt still living -- no cancer. To date, I have not received genetic testing -- the more concerning cancers have all been in second-degree relatives, so it has not previously been recommended to me.

Anyway -- thanks in advance for any support or advice you can offer during this week of waiting for my biopsy (and at least a few days after that while I wait for the results)! If I get the final report from the mammo & u/s in the meantime, I will provide an update.

I am not generally a worrier -- I have a mass in my breast. It's either cancer, or it isn't -- whatever it is, t already is, and nothing I do or don't do in the next week will change what it already is. But it is very present in my mind -- and I feel more empowered the more I know. I hope that sharing this here will help me diffuse some fixation.