Referred to Breast Specialist

Hi Ace,

So young I am sure you are scared. It sounds like your mom is a good source of comfort to you as well which is good.

First off not a "death sentence if it is cancer. It sounds like you might have had a mamogram done already and then were referred at that point.

They may want to do a biopsy next to determine if it is cancer or more testing (MRI or ultrasound) to look at it better before biopsy. Sometimes they can tell better if you have dense tissues with other testing other than mamogram.

Then at that point then they can develop a plan to treat you and get you on with your life so you can have a nice life when you finish your treatments.

Many of us have lived a very long time since being diagnosed with cancer already and doing our treatments or are still doing them.

Try to stay calm if possible for the next few weeks (I know it is hard) and do not be Dr. Google right now. Distract yourself with your life while you wait.

Best wishes!

You have lumps in your breasts. Of course you've been referred for imaging. Even if the doctor is 99.9% certain that the lumps are harmless, they still need to be diagnosed. Don't read anything more into this.

The most common lump in teenagers and young women are fibroadenomas. Some girls/women develop just one and some develop several. I had one at age 16 and another at age 20. Fibroadenomas usually can be quite clearly identified on ultrasounds. If your lumps have the distinct appearance of being fibroadenomas, and if the lumps are not bothering you, then that may be it. A biopsy usually is not done on fibroadenomas in young girls, if the imaging is clear. But if the imaging isn't clear, or if the lumps are large and bothering you, then a biopsy or possibly even surgical removal might be recommended.

In my case, my fibroadenomas were very large, and I'm old - breast ultrasounds didn't even exist back when I had my fibroadenomas. So both of mine were surgically removed, because with no imaging, there was no other way to confirm that the lumps were fibroadenomas.

As for the possibility that these lumps could be breast cancer... anything is possible, but you can probably count on the fingers of one hand the number of girls your age diagnosed with breast cancer each year. And for women of any age, it is unusual to several cancerous lumps at the same time. Benign lumps, such as fibroadenomas and cysts, are more likely to be found in multiples.

So don't even be thinking cancer - it's that unlikely. And good luck. Let us know how it goes.