Would a person know if they have metastatic BC, symptom wise?
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!
Comments
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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."
-
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)
-
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)?
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
Categories
- All Categories
- 679 Advocacy and Fund-Raising
- 289 Advocacy
- 68 I've Donated to Breastcancer.org in honor of....
- Test
- 322 Walks, Runs and Fundraising Events for Breastcancer.org
- 5.6K Community Connections
- 282 Middle Age 40-60(ish) Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 53 Australians and New Zealanders Affected by Breast Cancer
- 208 Black Women or Men With Breast Cancer
- 684 Canadians Affected by Breast Cancer
- 1.5K Caring for Someone with Breast cancer
- 455 Caring for Someone with Stage IV or Mets
- 260 High Risk of Recurrence or Second Breast Cancer
- 22 International, Non-English Speakers With Breast Cancer
- 16 Latinas/Hispanics With Breast Cancer
- 189 LGBTQA+ With Breast Cancer
- 152 May Their Memory Live On
- 85 Member Matchup & Virtual Support Meetups
- 375 Members by Location
- 291 Older Than 60 Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 177 Singles With Breast Cancer
- 869 Young With Breast Cancer
- 50.4K Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis
- 204 Breast Cancer with Another Diagnosis or Comorbidity
- 4K DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)
- 79 DCIS plus HER2-positive Microinvasion
- 529 Genetic Testing
- 2.2K HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer
- 1.5K IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer)
- 3.4K IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)
- 1.5K ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma)
- 999 Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis
- 652 LCIS (Lobular Carcinoma In Situ)
- 193 Less Common Types of Breast Cancer
- 252 Male Breast Cancer
- 86 Mixed Type Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned
- 189 Palliative Therapy/Hospice Care
- 488 Second or Third Breast Cancer
- 1.2K Stage I Breast Cancer
- 313 Stage II Breast Cancer
- 3.8K Stage III Breast Cancer
- 2.5K Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
- 13.1K Day-to-Day Matters
- 132 All things COVID-19 or coronavirus
- 87 BCO Free-Cycle: Give or Trade Items Related to Breast Cancer
- 5.9K Clinical Trials, Research News, Podcasts, and Study Results
- 86 Coping with Holidays, Special Days and Anniversaries
- 828 Employment, Insurance, and Other Financial Issues
- 101 Family and Family Planning Matters
- Family Issues for Those Who Have Breast Cancer
- 26 Furry friends
- 1.8K Humor and Games
- 1.6K Mental Health: Because Cancer Doesn't Just Affect Your Breasts
- 706 Recipe Swap for Healthy Living
- 704 Recommend Your Resources
- 171 Sex & Relationship Matters
- 9 The Political Corner
- 874 Working on Your Fitness
- 4.5K Moving On & Finding Inspiration After Breast Cancer
- 394 Bonded by Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Life After Breast Cancer
- 806 Prayers and Spiritual Support
- 285 Who or What Inspires You?
- 28.7K Not Diagnosed But Concerned
- 1K Benign Breast Conditions
- 2.3K High Risk for Breast Cancer
- 18K Not Diagnosed But Worried
- 7.4K Waiting for Test Results
- 603 Site News and Announcements
- 560 Comments, Suggestions, Feature Requests
- 39 Mod Announcements, Breastcancer.org News, Blog Entries, Podcasts
- 4 Survey, Interview and Participant Requests: Need your Help!
- 61.9K Tests, Treatments & Side Effects
- 586 Alternative Medicine
- 255 Bone Health and Bone Loss
- 11.4K Breast Reconstruction
- 7.9K Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 2.7K Complementary and Holistic Medicine and Treatment
- 775 Diagnosed and Waiting for Test Results
- 7.8K Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 50 Immunotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 7.4K Just Diagnosed
- 1.4K Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy
- 5.2K Lymphedema
- 3.6K Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment
- 591 Pain
- 3.9K Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 8.4K Surgery - Before, During, and After
- 109 Welcome to Breastcancer.org
- 98 Acknowledging and honoring our Community
- 11 Info & Resources for New Patients & Members From the Team