I never waited to tell my husband anything. We're partners.

How would you feel if he was having a biopsy for cancer and didn't tell you?

If this was happening to him and it was cancer, how would you feel having the diagnosis sprung on you with no warning, no knowledge that there was even testing being done?

For you, how will you feel if it's benign and you don't have him to share the good news with?

How will he feel about not being told if he finds out about the biopsy after the fact?

I appreciate that you feel he deserves a break. It sounds like you both deserve a break. But will he see it that way if you don't tell him?

Maryarod did you decide to talk to your DH about upcoming biopsy? Hope so. Sounds like you've been through a lot and have some experience sharing difficulties as partners. Gentle hugs to you both.

New to the forum... I somehow went 8 years from my first (and last) mammogram, had one a week and a half ago and got the dreaded call that I have microcalcification clusters in multiple locations in my right breast. I went in Thursday of last week for the follow-up/second mammogram to capture more specific images... the doctor came in shortly after the mammogram to inform me that I have several areas that are of "serious concern" for pre-cancer or cancer and I now have to have multiple areas biopsied. I am SOOOO in my head about this... WHY did I wait so long inbetween mammograms? How far advanced can this be if I in fact have developed pre-cancer or cancer? I have also developed a spot on my breast/skin that I showed to my husband and have been concerned about it as possible skin cancer. Turns out it is exactly in the location of one of the areas they plan to biopsy next week... can this be connected or a sign of advancement? I just can't get out of my head with this and am freaking out. I just got the courage to go through with a second back surgery... fusion of L4/L5 was done a few years back and S1 has continued to move from Spondolilytheisis and the back pain is unbareable, so I went in last week to begin the steps to have my second surgery in November. My husband suffers from severe depression and is not a source of comfort or stability... hoping to connect with people who have been through this and can give me some insight while I go through with this. I think my biggest question is what are the odds/chances that this is indeed cancer? The doctor was cold and very "matter of fact" - came in and out in all of 3-4 minutes.

I'm with you on this. I received a bi-Rad 4 on MRI contrast/non-contrast and am waiting for ultrasound for biopsy sight, and a "marker" inserted for core needle biopsy site. Overall, this process is taking FOREVER - so many mammo's, US, MRI's and it just goes on and on. I live in a rural area and the doctors here are, shall we say, okay, I won't say anything! I travel to U.C. Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center for treatment. The Bi-Rad score doesn't bother me, mass is oval and dense. HOWEVER - my family history is HUGE. Mom, 2 aunts, 1 cousin, all on mom's side have had breast cancer, lumpectomies, mastectomies, 1 death. I'm scheduled for genetic testing, but I am confused.

Going to be tested for BRAC & others, I had cervical cancer at 19, and once again, my poor mom: ovarian, uterine, breast, lung, stomach cancers. I have so many variables going on and I need help wrapping my head around all of this. When does family history "trump" genetic gene mutations, vice versa? I've also just been started on Estridiol. Any one that can help me, I'm grateful. (sorry so long) Bless you all. Oh, I'm 51 years old.

barrelchick29, we certainly feel that genetic testing seems appropriate. You may find this content section on genetic testing helpful: Genetic Testing.

Please keep us posted on the ultrasound and/or biopsy results. We're here for you.

Jons_girl, to my knowledge, BIRADs 5 has always been part of the classification system. The break-down of BIRADs 4 into 4A, 4B and 4C has been around for a while, but I'm not sure how long. My facility doesn't use the breakdown so I don't know if it was around as far back as 2005 when I was diagnosed, but it certainly was around well before 2017. Many if not most facilities don't use the breakdown, although it seems that more may be using it these days.

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barrelchick, is your mother still living? With her having both breast cancer and ovarian cancer, the odds that she has a genetic mutation are pretty high. If she does, then there is a 50% chance that you inherited this mutation - but that also means a 50% chance that you didn't inherit it. Normally the preference is that the person in the family who has had cancer (or the most cancer) gets tested first. This way, if this individual tests positive, it's very easy to test other family members because they know the exact mutation that they are looking for. Then you either test positive for this specific mutation, or you have a "true negative", meaning that it's known what is causing the cancer in your family and you don't have it.

Otherwise, genetic testing is like taking a shot in the dark. If your mother is not living and/or can't be tested, your aunts would probably be a good substitute - talk to the genetic counselor about this. Otherwise, given the very strong family history, you will want to have the broadest testing possible. I initially had only BRCA testing when I was diagnosed in 2005. I had a 23-gene panel done a few years ago. Negative on everything. Despite my negative results, with my family history it's believed that there probably is a genetic mutation in there somewhere, so I'm now in a clinical trial with full genome testing, including 151 known cancer genes. My suggestion is that you ask for the broadest possible test available - I know that these days there are panels that do at least 30 genes, if not many more. If you test negative on everything without having any family results, that will be considered a "uninformative negative". This means although you are negative on all genes tested, it's possible that you might have another genetic mutation (something obscure or not yet discovered) that is causing all the cancer in the family. This is explained here: https://www.facingourrisk.org/understanding-brca-a...

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Maryarod, good luck with the biopsy today!

"The use of category 4 subdivisions has been suggested in BI-RADS since 2003, to aid patient treatment decisions, monitor the interpretive performance of radiologists, and promote radiologic research (5,6,8–10,16). However, we observed low utilization of subdivisions across our study interval."

This study shows the B4 subdivisions are used about 1/3 of the time in actual practice. The assignment of an a,b, or c to a B4 depends upon the individual radiologist and is not a feature by feature evaluation of a finding using a rigid set of criteria given to us by the ACR. Therefore a more experienced breast reader may use a different subdivision than a less experienced reader for the same lesion, but not consistently higher or lower.

Every year these stats are collected and compared to the corresponding biopsy results and this will determine the subdivision probabilities for that particular year with those particular rads reading. All radiologists reading breast imaging get a written summary of their performance each year (like a report card) and these B4 stats can help the rad adjust their "threshold" of what they consider low to high probability of malignancy by reviewing their true/false positives and true/false negatives.

The probability of malignancy is 30% overall for B4. This reflects all lesions biopsied, read by radiologists of all skill levels, and include both correct and incorrect assessments.

from https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/full/10.1148/radiol.2017170770 (2018)

Bessie: can you share the name of the clinical trial your in? Is it the CHARM study? I called on a gene trial today I’d like to be in a trial like that breast cancer runs on my moms side of the family actually not just breast cancer if you want to just pm the info to me that’s fine too thank you!

Djmammo and beesie: thank you both for that information! Good to know this info! Interesting my dx was a birad 4. I wonder if it should have been higher looking back on my dx. I mean my tumor had a bloodsource. Wouldn’t you think that should have been higher birad level? Maybe not?

I guess I either forgot or never knew the birad scale went to 6!😳interesting!

Thank-you so very much for your thoughtful and detailed response. My mother passed away last year. Today would have been her 80th birthday. Yesterday I had ultrasound and the reviewing physician told me it was fibroidema (sp?), no biopsy required. Have a great 6 months! I am so UNCOMFORTABLE with this. I just can't understand why it won't be removed so it can't continue to grow or become something else. And can a doctor be absolutely certain it's what it appears to be by ultrasound alone. Genetic testing wasn't done for any of my aunts, nor mama. And as far as my 2 living aunts, their insurance will not cover it, so, I'm the first. Either way, as you explained, these tests aren't going to comfort me in any way. The family history is so strong that I understand that in itself could be enough to know what you may be facing in life. And another thing - I read that these fibroidedema (sp?) usually occur in younger women. At 51, how can it so easily be swept under the rug? I love and appreciate you ladies for your wisdom and insite.

djmammo:

WOW! Thank you for your response to my comment! I didn't know that benign tumors have blood sources as well! Interesting! Thank you for this info. Hope my radiologist didn't get dings in his year end eval for giving me B4 instead of B5! I thought he was a good radiologist! And I didn't have to wait more than like 2 days for my results! It was really nice!

Barrelchick, I would push for a MRI, biopsy or excision. Ultrasound cannot rule out cancer. I learned the hard way when my PCP told me my ultrasound was negative and didn’t recommend further testing. I assumed it was a fibroadenoma for 20 months, with another negative mammogram in that time frame. Plus the article that djmammo posted states that women older than 35 should have the fibroadenoma removed. Keep us posted.

Thank-you! I followed your advice and biopsy scheduled for 10/4. My doctor didn't seem too happy with my persistence and I think that the scheduled biopsy is just a "stop freaking out and leave me alone" procedure. It really doesn't matter in the long run. In the interim I am waiting for the results of my genetic testing. Having 3 daughters I'm very much on edge. Funny how I care more about their futures than my own. Thank you again. It's people here that really want what's best for the rest of us. I don't feel alone anymore.