Planning for all possible outcomes...

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KR75
KR75 Member Posts: 22
edited June 2019 in Waiting for Test Results

Being the type of person who prefers a plan for everything, I've been trying to get an idea of what to expect if my biopsy July 16th does show cancer. I was told it takes about a week to get results back. If the a lumpectomy is recomended, how long after the biopsy would that typically take place? Days, weeks? We have a couple of vacations planned in that time frame, so just trying to get a feel for whether or not I should consider cancelling or postponing.

Which leads to another question...we are supposed to spend a week at a waterpark in Texas 10 days after my core needle biopsy. In your experience is there anything about that biopsy (pain, aftercare, etc...) that might make that vacation not so enjoyable so close after?

Thanks in advance!

Kim

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  • Beesie
    Beesie Member Posts: 12,240
    edited June 2019

    I have had many core needle biopsies. While I took some Tylenol on the day of the biopsy and restricted my physical activity, by the next day I was back to normal. So there should be no problem going on vacation 10 days after the biopsy.

    As for the rest, it depends. Every facility is different in terms of how they plan and schedule, every doctor is different and every situation is different. Some women have their surgery within a week of getting their biopsy results; some women don't have surgery for 6-8 weeks. Some women see a Medical Oncologist prior to surgery (which can add to the time), some women see the MO after surgery. Some surgeons like to have their patients undergo an MRI prior to surgery, other surgeons don't. Other than different preferences by the doctors, the aggressiveness of the pathology makes a big difference in what other tests and appointments may be scheduled before surgery, and how quickly the surgery is done. With DCIS, a long wait is no concern. With a high grade aggressive invasive cancer, even if small, the surgery will be scheduled more quickly. With a large invasive cancer, chemo might be given before surgery. As a general rule, a breast cancer diagnosis is not considered a 'medical emergency' so 4-6 weeks is not unusual timing for surgery, but some situations are more urgent and some doctors prefer to move more quickly

    All that to say that there is no answer to your question, except "it depends". You can hear about other people's experiences, but that has no bearing on what will happen in your unique case.

    Many of us are planners. We quickly learn that we have little control when we are diagnosed with breast cancer.

    You are having a biopsy. 80% of biopsies are benign. Let's hope that you are not diagnosed with breast cancer and you don't have to worry about any of this.

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  • Sherri000
    Sherri000 Member Posts: 47
    edited June 2019

    Hi Kim

    I do not have any info on waiting time or what comes next as I am in the process myself. I just had an Ultrasound guided vacuum needle biopsy this past Wednesday. The procedure didn't hurt as I was numbed well. I did however develop a huge hematoma during it, or right after. I needed to spend about hour extra there with the techs applying pressure to the hematoma to stop the blood pooling more. I don't want to scare you here but just wanted to mention it as something to keep in mind. I guess it does happen but is probably not a likely event.

    I was told to limit activity for a couple of days, wear a tight sports bra and apply ice packs. From my understanding this could take weeks or months to go away. I'm now left with a very hard and painful flat lump at the top of my breast. It's not terribly painful but uncomfortable and definitely not something I want to bump or injure further. I'm guessing that if I had a trip planned I would need to consider how much physical activity I was going to take on. There is also a hole from the needle that has been glued closed so I'm not sure how many days waiting before getting into a body of water. I have no plans to do so but if you are then you might want to ask how long you need to wait before doing so.

    Good luck. I hope things go smoothly and you enjoy your vacation.

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  • KR75
    KR75 Member Posts: 22
    edited June 2019

    Thank you Beesie, my nature is to dive in and learn all I can when I encounter something new, as well as to always have plans in place for any and all possibilities. Always a plan for the worst so the best is better type of person! Anxiety has actually calmed quite a bit from the first week all this started. At that point I was googling like crazy but that seemed overwhelming and just made the anxiety worse. Stumbled on this forum and it is so much better to be able to talk with, and gain insight from, those who have experienced it!

    Never experienced anything even close to this before. So much uncertainty in every aspect of this...I guess it is time for me to learn how to just be patient and let go!

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  • WC3
    WC3 Member Posts: 1,540
    edited June 2019

    Some places like to do chemotherapy before surgery if the cancer is triple negative or HER2 positive.

    If it's malignant and HER2 negative then they will probably want to do oncotyping like a mammaprint to determine if chemotherapy is indicated, at least if it's invasive ductile carcinoma. I'm not sure of the protocol for other types of breast cancer.

    I hear from some on here who didn't even meet with an oncologist until after surgery. Personally I am not a fan of that sequence of care. I've also heard that some surgeons still do extensive axillary lymph node dissection as a standard procedure, however that could result in lymphedema and the more contemporary thing to do is just remove/biopsy the sentinel node unless removing other nodes is indicated.

    I was pretty sore after my biopsy. My skin turned bright red for a few days. I don't recall how long I had to keep it dry for but towards the end I was just covering it with one of those small, round band-aids.

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  • Sjacobs146
    Sjacobs146 Member Posts: 770
    edited June 2019

    Believe it or not, Breast Cancer is not an emergency (except in the case of IBC). Don't cancel any plans! When scheduling surgery, my surgeon asked if I had any plans that we needed to schedule around. Some women undergo fertility treatments to harvest eggs prior to starting treatment. There's no rush. Besides, 80% of biopsies turn out benign. As far as the biopsy, I was perfectly fine the next day, no restrictions. Some women have had different experiences, but for the most part, biopsies are fairly easy.

    Hoping for B9 results

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  • ElaineTherese
    ElaineTherese Member Posts: 3,328
    edited June 2019

    I had a big, rapidly-dividing HER2+ tumor, and my oncologist was good with me taking a ten day vacation between my first two chemo infusions (which included swimming in a lake). It was fine. Oftentimes, our medical teams will work around our planned vactations.

    My biopsy was boring and I went back to work after it was done.

    Hoping your results are benign!


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  • gb2115
    gb2115 Member Posts: 1,894
    edited June 2019

    Timing on surgery really depends. We had to cancel a Disney vacation in order to have my lumpectomy at the one month mark. Cancelling made sense to me, if we delayed surgery I wouldn't have enjoyed the vacation since I was antsy to get it all removed. To this day I never book anything that isn't 100% refundable.

    I hope this ends up being nothing but an annoying biopsy for you! Regarding the water park as long as your skin is healed you should be fine.


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  • countdooku
    countdooku Member Posts: 63
    edited June 2019

    Every person's situation is slightly different from another person's. In my case, I had 2 stereotactic biopsies and was told no swimming in pools or taking baths for 2 weeks after the biopsy. That's because the incision needs to fully close before you go into a swimming pool in order to minimize infection.

    My 1st biopsy was on 5/17, 2nd one was on 5/23, and mastectomy was on 6/19.

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