Freaking out...

Slow down. I know your mind is racing in a bazillion different panicked directions. You’re way ahead of yourself. Biopsies don’t anger cancer. Cancer doesn’t have feelings or emotions to wage a retaliatory war on you. Yes some cells can be released on the way back out of the biopsied tissue but it’s much more of an issue with cancers in major organs like the liver where the cancers tend to be very aggressive and super resistant to treatment. The vast majority of breast cancers are slow growing. Back to your mammo findings... does the radiologist’s report give a BIRADS number? If you don’t already have a copy of it, get one. When you’re at the surgeons office you can inquire if the biopsy can be an excision biopsy, stereotactic, etc. With a family history of BC you should qualify for testing. Ask the surgeon while you’re there. There are currently 9 known genes that indicate increased risk for developing BC in a woman’s lifetime. Having one of them does not guarantee you’ll get get it but it’s very likely. BMX does not completely eliminate risk of BC but it takes it down to about 3% risk. The average woman without family history/genetics has a 12% risk of developing BC. Make your appointment, schedule the biopsy, request the testing and focus on your life again until test results come in. Worrying today will not change the outcome of the biopsy. We’re here here for you if you neeed us.

Hi, Deez. First, I want you to know that your username made me giggle.

Secondly, I want to encourage you to breathe and try to slow down the old brain. Lula covered the technical stuff so I’ll just share my experience.

I made myself a complete wreck a few months ago when I was told I needed a biopsy on a lump I’d found. I lost 10 pounds in the week I had to wait. No bueno. I won’t tell you not to worry but I will suggest that you ask for medication for anxiety if you need it. It’s difficult to not think 10 steps ahead when you’re so scared but try to focus on where you are right now.

All I could see was the word “suspicious abnormality” even though the radiologist said he thought it was unlikely to be cancer. He wanted to be certain that he was correct as he said he wouldn’t feel comfortable sending me off without a biopsy if I were his wife, but I convinced myself that it must be malignant. The results were B9 and I hope there is nothing further to worry about. I also have fibrocystic breasts and they seem to do all sorts of weird but benign things. Perhaps it’s a case of being certain for you, too.

Also, the biopsy was not painful. I felt a little stick when he began numbing the area but no pain. I didn’t realize he was taking samples until I heard the sound of the vacuum device. I was so anxious that I think my body was full of adrenaline and I was oblivious to anything except the worry about what the results would be. I did bleed some so the nurse had to keep pressure on the area longer than for some and that was uncomfortable but only because I’m very small and bony and she was pushing me down into the table quite hard while applying pressure to the incision. I was sore for a few days but ice and Tylenol helped quite a bit. I found I had wrapped my arm around the side of the table opposite of the biopsy site to grip the edge of it and bruised my forearm. Haha. Anxiety is a trip. I have panic attacks so I wasn’t surprised that I hadn’t one on the table.

The thing I wasn’t prepared for was the meltdown I had when I initially took the dressing off to shower. I looked down, saw the bruising and swelling, and wondered if I was looking at a body part that was going to kill me. Quite irrational but it seemed perfectly logical at the time. Again, one must slow down the brain. They can get away from us

Take care of yourself. Sounds like your odds are pretty good.

April

hello, I am going through some similar things and am freaking out as well. I am 40 years old. Don't know family history I was adopted. I felt what I thought was a lump. But I have lumpy breasts anyways always have. Very dense. Went to see my doc he felt it and sent me over for a mammo. This was my first mammo. I work at the hospital so I called and they got me in immediately. After the mammo they took me back to do a ultrasound. Strangely the area I was concerned about did not show anything on mammo or ultrasound. But two other spots showed up. One in the bottom and one almost in my nipple towards center part of body. Two ultrasound people could not find the area by the nipple. The radiologist came in and found it. Took him a while. He said the one by the nipple was irregular and concerns him but the one at the bottom was round and had defined borders. I have to have a biopsy and I am so scared. I can't eat or think I can only cry

Hi,

I probably have no knowledge about breast topics. But i would like to put forth my condition as its worrying me to the core. I have vitamin b12 and D defeciency, I also have GERD. I was on antacids. After a week I noticed swelling in both breasts and milk discharge. After stopping antacids discharge stopped. And, now, swelling remains only in one breast. Doctor suggests taking test for Prolactin. And has given me Condisoft for breast pain. I am worried because of little swelling and muscle pain is freaking me out. She says its nothing to worry about. My age is 27 with no history of breast disease. Please help me in what should i do. I am not comfortable discussing imy worries with others as it presents me as constantly worried human being.

I’m so happy for you! Please give yourself a pat on the back for following through with something that clearly frightened you significantly. What a relief it must be for you to know the status of things

Congratulations! Thanks so much for coming back and letting us know. So good to hear positive news!