Scheduling surgery

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Emast26
Emast26 Member Posts: 3
edited December 2018 in Waiting for Test Results

I found a lump in my right breast recently and saw my family doctor who sent me for an ultrasound. The radiologist said that it’s 4.5 centimeters and is recommending surgery to remove it instead of a biopsy due to its size and my age (29). Not sure if that makes sense or is normal but that’s what he said.

Is it normal/common to not know if it’s malignant or benign until after surgery? If it’s cancerous can they usually tell just from the imaging?

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  • Castigame
    Castigame Member Posts: 752
    edited December 2018

    emast26,

    lets get MRI done ASAP because MRI with ultrasound tell more accurate picture. I know it is Holiday season but lets also schedule consultation w surgeon. if possible get a second opinion. I know it is scary and upsetting. But try to keep yourself together. Let's find out what it is and you got to make a plan for yourself accordingly.

    I think your radiologist is being extra cautious first of all. my radiologist did not for 10 yrs plus (same rad doc all those yrs)

    If this turned out to be as serious it may sound. You will learn a ton in every way.

    Here are two different possible scenarios..

    1. Surgery first t first with clean margin which means breast removed has bad suckers surrounded by amount of healthy tissues. this is first attack. the second attack is chemo and the third is radiations. some do reconstruction w the main surgery.

    2. the other scenario is chemo then surgery which is called neoadjuvant chemo. (chemo after surgery is adjuvant) the rationale behind chemo first is the possibilty of PCR (pathological complete response) PCR means chemo killing all the suckers. PCR does happen if not The second rationale is shrinking sucker cells which could mean less non cancerous cells removed to get clean margin. Breast reconstruction methods are so developed you have so many different routes to take.

    I hope I did not scare you. please ask around on this forum. feel free to PM also.


    p.s. I had three consultations. first one was honest but not capable. second one was a BS artist. third one was capable in every way I felt it.




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  • Castigame
    Castigame Member Posts: 752
    edited December 2018

    emast26,

    lets get MRI done ASAP because MRI with ultrasound tell more accurate picture regards to benign or malignant. I know it is Holiday season but lets also schedule consultation w surgeon. When you make a surgeon consulation tell the office you are getting MRI. if possible get a second opinion. I know it is scary and upsetting. But try to keep yourself together. Let's find out what it is and you got to make a plan for yourself accordingly.

    I think your radiologist is being extra cautious first of all. my radiologist did not for 10 yrs plus (same rad doc all those yrs)

    If this turned out to be as serious it may sound. You will learn a ton in every way.

    Here are two different possible scenarios..

    1. Surgery first t first with clean margin which means breast removed has bad suckers surrounded by amount of healthy tissues. this is first attack. the second attack is chemo and the third is radiations. some do reconstruction w the main surgery.

    2. the other scenario is chemo then surgery which is called neoadjuvant chemo. (chemo after surgery is adjuvant) the rationale behind chemo first is the possibilty of PCR (pathological complete response) PCR means chemo killing all the suckers. PCR does happen if not The second rationale is shrinking sucker cells which could mean less non cancerous cells removed to get clean margin. Breast reconstruction methods are so developed you have so many different routes to take.

    I hope I did not scare you. please ask around on this forum. feel free to PM also.


    p.s. I had three consultations. first one was honest but not capable. second one was a BS artist. third one was capable in every way I felt it.




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  • Salamandra
    Salamandra Member Posts: 1,444
    edited December 2018

    That is a little odd to me because I know that with certain large cancerous tumors, they would use chemo to shrink them before surgery. They'd want to know before surgery what's going on with the tumor so they know whether to check for spreading and what types of other treatment to give.

    I definitely don't know enough to say that this is wrong. But I would think it worth asking for a second opinion.

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  • Dani444
    Dani444 Member Posts: 522
    edited December 2018

    I am not sure how common it is to recommend an incisional biopsy straight away. I think a radiologist can get a pretty good idea on what may be cancerous or benign but will always order a biopsy to confirm. I would suggest you see a breast surgeon rather than a general surgeon for a consult. So if they agree on the type of biopsy recommended they will take into account cosmetic outcome of the procedure. I am sorry you are going through this. Waiting for answers are difficult.

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  • Emast26
    Emast26 Member Posts: 3
    edited December 2018

    Thank you everyone for the replies. I guess I will see if what the surgeon has to say willclarify anything for me and go from there. My primary doctor did say she’s referring me to a breast surgeon. This all happened on Friday right before 5 so it could be that everything was a little rushed and I didn’t fully comprehend. Or maybe I expected it to be a bit more Hollywood-esque where they know what it is right off the bat. It didn’t occur to me that there’s a limbo area where you know that there is something but don’t know what the something is.

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