Being dismissed because of age

Sam183, I've just looked at all of your posts. Not once has age been mentioned. I noticed you mentioned private messages with djmammo, the radiologist who is kind enough to assist the members here. If, in any of his messages, he mentioned age, it would have been from a statistical perspective and certainly not personal. If anyone else mentioned age in a private message, perhaps take it up with that person instead of blaming the entire membership for one person's insensitivity. Best of luck to you.

Then, perhaps you should not have maligned the rest of the members here if your issue was with just one person. Please remember that most members are coping with a lot, some of them for years, and they might be having a worse day than you can imagine right now. And I hope you'll stick around and get to know some of us individually.

Sounds like a good plan.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you.

I know the feeling. Breast cancer does not discriminate against age. I went in for an ultrasound and the tech made me feel stupid. Oh you’re young I doubt that it’s anything. As I was leaving she said I’ll show your exam to the radiologist , see you back when you’re 40. I feel so dismissed and it’s sad.

Breast cancer does discriminate by age. By a lot, in fact. Women in their 60s and 70s and even into their 80s are much more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than women in their 20s or 30s.

Here is a chart from the Komen site:

That doesn't mean of course that someone younger is immune from being diagnosed, and no one who is young who presents with real breast concerns should be dismissed. There is no excuse for not taking any concerns seriously, no matter what the age of the patient. The risk of breast cancer for someone in her 20s might be low, but it's not zero and proper & appropriate (to the symptoms presented and the age of the patient) diagnostics are necessary no matter what the age of the patient.

Sam, hoping for benign results from your biopsy.

I was just posting that very graph when I saw Beesie beat me to it so I deleted the post.

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Breast cancer is one of the cancers that discriminates by age as is prostate cancer. If a man lives long enough there will be cancer present in his prostate but many die of something else before it is clinically evident. There are cases that have been reported in the 20's and 30's but rare enough that prostate screening does not start until 40-50 years of age.

I propose we look at the above graph a little differently than was intended. Instead of that curve representing the "number of cases of breast cancer by age per year", let's have that curve represent the "the appropriate level of anxiety to experience while you are having your symptoms evaluated, by age". I think thats a good start.

I was Dxthe first time at 27 years old in 1999. There was very much an attitude of “you're too young". Fortunately, my surgeon listened and did a biopsy. I'm convinced he saved my life.

Never let anyone dismiss you due to age, you have to be you're own advocate.

Sam183

All papillomas carry a small potential for papillary carcinoma and thats why they are all routinely removed. Perhaps yours had some atypical cells in it that makes it high risk, you will have to read the whole path report or ask your doc to know why.

Duct excision and ductal resection are interchangeable terms. Subareolar just indicates the location. They will remove the mass and send it to pathology where they will slice it up and examine it under a microscope in its entirety, there is no second biopsy. In my experience nipples are not removed unless a cancer is invading it directly.

Sam183

I am not a surgeon but I assume that only that duct will be removed unless they feel something else while they are in there. "Evolving papillary lesion" suggests that it may be a papilloma but its not convincing enough with the amount of tissue they got from the biopsy so they want the entire lump so they can get a good look at all of it to make a better diagnosis. After they are done examining it they will issue another path report with their final diagnosis and recommendations. Sounds like this will be a "same day surgery" situation.

hi! I’m new here! I went to my OB in the beginning of April because I felt a long cord-type lump in the upper outer region of my breast. She felt both of my breast while I wasn’t laying on my back (I’m almost certain she couldn’t even feel the lump in this position because all of my breast tissue was pushed to that side) and said my breast feel Fibrocystic but she would sent me for an ultrasound just to be a be sure. After waiting two weeks for the ultrasound the rad-tech told me while performing he ultrasound she could no time find the lump. My OB called me the next day said I just have dense breast. The reason I am still worried is because I don’t feel this cord thing anywhere else on either breast. I also read online that ultrasound can’t always see everything. I’m only 25 and I feel I’m not being taken seriously. Has any other young person felt this kind of lump? It feels like a 2 inch long cord sort of deep in my breast.