Would a person know if they have metastatic BC, symptom wise?

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anonymous_852456
anonymous_852456 Member Posts: 18
edited May 2021 in Not Diagnosed But Worried

Would there by any signs / symptoms of metastatic? Someone I know had a 3-D mammogram, got called back for abnormalities in breast. Last mammogram was two years ago. We are terrified. A year ago, a physical exam using the hands/ "feel method" was done on breasts by qualified doctors during an OBGYN checkup and no lumps were found. The symptoms listed for b.c. aren't being experienced, to the best of this person's knowledge. The breasts are of the dense type. I'm trying to read the "tea leaves". Any input you can give, qualified is best, but I need knowledge so everyone is welcome to contribute. Thank you!

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  • Beesie
    Beesie Member Posts: 12,240
    edited May 2021

    Callbacks after a mammogram are extremely common - approx. 10% of screening mammograms result in a call-back. Approx. 95% of callback do not end up with a cancer diagnosis.

    So jumping from "callback after 3D mammo" to "metastatic breast cancer" is a huge leap.

    About 25% of callbacks result in a biopsy. The rest are resolved simply through additional imaging.

    About 70%-75% of biopsies are benign, meaning that only approx. 25%-30% turn out to be cancer.

    80% of breast cancer diagnoses are early stage. Only 5%-6% of breast cancer diagnoses are metastatic at time of diagnosis.

    For those diagnosed with mets at the time of their initial diagnosis, I would guess that most have no symptoms.


  • anonymous_852456
    anonymous_852456 Member Posts: 18
    edited May 2021

    Thank you for the reply! Is a biennial mammogram for a 54 year old bad? I'm asking cause I've heard mixed things about yearly vs 2 years.

  • moth
    moth Member Posts: 4,800
    edited May 2021

    So.. I think you need to be clear that things found on imaging don't always mean breast cancer and breast cancer doesn't always mean metastatic. Callbacks are not unusual, especially if it's the first time using a certain technology because then it's trickier to compare to previous imaging.

    No need to panic now. Just go for the follow up and go from there. Most of these things turn out to be absolutely nothing but doing the screening & following up is the best possible thing.

  • Beesie
    Beesie Member Posts: 12,240
    edited May 2021

    Biennial vs. Annual Mammography: Which Is Better? https://www.aafp.org/afp/2010/0415/p1024.html


    "The authors conclude that biennial mammography maintains most of the benefit of annual screening with less risk of adverse effects. Screening biennially from 50 to 69 years of age yields the greatest improvements in breast cancer mortality reduction and life-years gained. Some additional benefit could be achieved by extending the screening years."



  • anonymous_852456
    anonymous_852456 Member Posts: 18
    edited May 2021

    What alarms me most is a few things: complete blood count, platelets were 135, second blood test were normal though. In mid 50s and NEVER been called back before. How much of a difference would 2 years between mammograms make growth wise vs 1 year, if no lumps were physically detected? That would mean if anything was there, it was less than 1cm a year ago when the doctors done the physical exam (1 cm is the smallest they can usually detect physically)

  • Beesie
    Beesie Member Posts: 12,240
    edited May 2021

    You are jumping too far ahead again, trying to estimate the size of a cancer of someone who wasn't screened for 2 years. But there's been no diagnosis of cancer.

    This is a call back. Very common. 95% chance of not being cancer. Someone who has never been called back before is damned lucky. I've had call backs more often than not, and while I have been diagnosed with breast cancer, over the years most of my call backs turned out to be nothing and even most of my biopsies turned out to be nothing.

    As for breast cancer growth, while there are exceptions, most breast cancers are slow growing. It's estimated that most breast cancers have been in the breast for many years (possibly 5, in some cases even 10) before they become large enough to be detected by screening. This is why the study I linked above supported biennial mammograms.

    You are working through a bunch of "what ifs" based on a scenario that hasn't happened yet and hopefully won't happen at all. And if it does happen, the "what ifs" are pointless and harmful, because there is nothing in the past that can be changed. Whatever will happen will happen. If your friend lands on the short side of the odds and it is cancer, she will deal with it, just as everyone here has.

    Barely below normal range platelets on one blood test - how does that have anything to do with getting a call back after a mammogram?

    When is your friend's diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound (assuming that's the next step here)?


  • anonymous_852456
    anonymous_852456 Member Posts: 18
    edited May 2021

    Thank you for taking time to type that- I sincerely appreciate everything you're doing to help. My mom's test is Wednesday, and I truly dread it. Before the mammogram results came in, I was already pacing and restless. I don't think I "knew"- (I'm hoping not. Hoping these aren't instincts, but instead fears.) Low platelets are a sign of leukemia or cancer in bone and breast cancer can of course spread to bone- that's the correlation I was making there. I understand it's speculation, but I'm holding on to the hope of being able to rule some of this out with what little I know.

  • AliceBastable
    AliceBastable Member Posts: 3,461
    edited May 2021

    anonymous_852456

    Wow, you really need to take several thousand steps back. One, there's no difference between instinct and imagination. They're both in your head, both imaginary, and both completely irrelevant to reality. Two, blood test levels can vary widely for a lot of reasons, like not drinking as much water on one day. Second blood test was normal, why on earth are you still stressing over it? That makes no sense. Three, I really, REALLY hope you are not sharing these extreme thoughts and fears with your mother, nobody should have someone else's stress (especially when it's for no reason!) dumped on them. If a relative did that to me, I'd block them. Possibly permanently. Even if your mother did have a health issue (which probably will be inevitable at some point as she ages), she would need her daughter to be supportive, not constantly freaking out over what-if scenarios.

    Breathe.

  • Beesie
    Beesie Member Posts: 12,240
    edited May 2021

    anonymous, I'm sorry to see that you've deleted your posts. I hope you are still reading here.

    Good luck to your mother with her call-back. It would be great if you posted to let us know how it goes.


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