Age 32 and Large mass in right breast

I'm sorry. In a similar position- 33, two kids, having biopsy today for what I thought was a previously biopsied benign lump but may not be the old one. It has calcifications too. I don't have discharge like you do but from what I have read that could be a sign of a papilloma, which isn't cancer.

Sending good thoughts your way. The process is terrifying and full of anxiety and worry. Without question the most stressful experiences I have had to go through.

Also, try not to focus on your perception of the size. I have learned that is way off. Both times I've stressed over the lump in this spot i would have sworn they were 2+ inches. Reports for both say 2cm

I didn't even know there was a BIRADS 0.... my healthy breast was a BIRADS 1, before I had it removed. If you have the ability to look up online through some health portal (my hospital has it, my appointments, blood test results, clinician notes etc) you may be able to read their report. The BIRADS rating is helpful to see how likely they think this is to be cancer or be benign. I was clueless... When they showed me my mammogram image before the biopsy the radiologist told me it had a 50% chance of being cancer, but later on I looked back at old paperwork and saw that they gave me BIRADS 4C which is about an 80% chance, and they bumped that to BIRADS 5 after my biopsy, which became BIRADS 6 (confirmed malignancy) after the biopsy results were DCIS.

If they didn't mention a cluster, perhaps yours are arranged more in a line.... OR there can be instances of multi-focal (abnormal cellular activity/cancer in various places). OR various other issues, who knows.

Research was useful to me just to prepare my mind. After enough looking around I was pretty sure if it was malignant, my case would be DCIS. They were hesitant to tell me over the phone, which was obnoxious. They didn't yield information until I specifically asked if it was DCIS.

This is hell.... I have to call in a day or two from now to see if I can pry my latest biopsy results over the phone. I'd hate to be told in person, incase I might cry, ha.

I hope all turns out well for you.

Keep those ice packs on! I had a bit of bleeding with my second biopsy but it was later, while I slept. Sorry you had a rough time, it’s a a lot to go through! Do keep and eye on it and let your doc know if you have any increasing pain. Sometimes you can get a hematoma after the biopsy. Sending good thoughts that you can rest up this weekend

Biopsies are not fun and you may have a lot of bruising and swelling ... I did because mine was done in a very "thin" area of my breast without a lot of surrounding tissue to buffer. My lump was basically right between skin and lung - the radiologist was crazy careful getting samples to avoid puncturing my lung. Stay iced up. The big refreezable gel cooler packs are your BFF for the first 24 hours- they're soft and moldable so you can sort of form them around your whole breast.

My results came back as a complex sclerosing lesion- rare overall and especially for someone my age (33). It's very big (2.2 cm) and needs to come out even though it is not cancer. These things so thoroughly mimic carcinoma that ONLY pathology can differentiate. They are almost always birads 4c or 5 due to sharing all the physical features of invasive cancer. I feel beyond lucky; everything in my images and reports indicated IDC.

See if you have a patient portal you can log into to access your report. It will give you specific language about what they found, especially regarding your calcifications. DJMammo has linked some docs with common lingo used in these reports and what they signify. Certain terms are more often correlated with benign or malignant findings. You may know more once you see the actual report.

Good luck for your findings. I was a wreck during this process as mine looked so dire- I was mentally preparing for bad results. Hoping hoping hoping yours are benign.

motheroftwo - Even if it's something you suspect in the back of your mind, it hits you like a ton of bricks. This is the worse stage, not knowing specifics but you will get there so don't get too ahead of yourself. This is such a great place to come to for questions and support!

WOW those were very fast results.

I was 35 at diagnosis and the "healthiest" person I know... fucking awful shock out of nowhere. I do have family history but no BRCA gene, I thought different diet ant more exercise etc would help me but NO. Sometimes things in life make no sense.

They will probably make you do an MRI soon. They may not know if there is an invasive component until surgery/pathology but hopefully more imaging can help.

Personally I opted for the double mastectomy due to younger age (and wanting symmetry). There is just more time to have more bad luck come along. I don't regret the decision. Some people (or European healthcare) claim it is "overkill" to do double mastectomy or even mastectomy for DCIS but I don't think so. What's the point of keeping a breast if it is going to be so stressful? Good luck to you, this will be a drag and drain/a little sidetrack in your life but it's not the end of the world. You seem to be taking things well!

Just agreeing with the other people posting, this truly is the hardest part. Once you have more information - take your time thinking and discusising and making a plan YOU are comfortable with. Once you have a plan, and you know what you are dealing with, it gets easier. I promise.

My breast surgeon and plastic surgeon had to arrange a day when they were both available. My double mastectomy was 6 wks after diagnosis. The time went by very quickly. And honestly, my mastectomy was easy with easily handled pain and quick healing. The main thing will be to get some great care for your little ones. Wishing you the best

Motheroftwo ,

I’m sorry you have to deal with this. My surgery was about one month from biopsy. It took a week to get my biopsy results and then my Primary Care Physician delivered the news over the phone, which I was fine with that. I had invasive plus DCIS I had a lump in my right breast from age 22. At 24, I had my first mammogram and ultrasound, no biopsy then. They said it was a fibroadenoma and benign. Now I wonder if it was cancer that stayed dormant for 30 years?

Anyway, I had a lumpectomy last March. My surgeon recommended lumpectomy and said that lumpectomy plus radiation is as effective as mastectomy. That is some food for thought. Whatever you decide, take it one step at a time. If you don’t feel comfortable with one doctor, ask for another opinion. BTW, my surgeon asked if I wanted a second opinion. I said no. I thought she was great. And, the surgery was a breeze. The biopsy was the worst part of my entire treatment. And I had breast reduction surgery between lumpectomy and radiation.

It’s all so overwhelming in the beginning. And I agree with others, the waiting is hard. Things move slow when you want them to go fast.

Keep us posted. This is where I lived (breastcancer. .Org) in the beginning. So much information and so many supportive people going through the same thing.

Keep us posted.

They might want to do a breast MRI prior to surgery.

As for timing, depends if you do immediate reconstruction or not. If immediate, it might take a bit longer for the breast surgeon and plastic surgeon to coordinate.

See if you qualify for skin sparing mastectomy, if the tumor is not close to the skin. That would make you qualified for a one-step implant with Alloderm sling, if the plastic surgeon is able to do it. It's the easiest of all reconstruction methods.

I would recommend looking at as many pictures of you can of all the options and see how you feel when you view them. A lot of pics are on instagram under #mastectomy etc and related hashtags. Though of course there are trans surgery pics mixed in. There are more images than google search. It helpe me prepare my mind.


When they take away the breast tissue, there is nothing left to support the nipple so the shape of it changes even if it is spared. And no nerves connect to it, so it stays like a nub vs. how real nipples get hard or not hard....

A mastectomy really is not so bad. I was glad to forego radiation. And like you mentioned, breast conservation isn't worth it if most of the breast is going to be gone.