Breast MRI Focus of Enhancement

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MapleBud
MapleBud Member Posts: 7
edited October 2021 in Not Diagnosed But Worried

I am presently 46 yrs old and had IDC in 2016 with lumpectomy, radiation and in August finished 5 years on Tamoxifen. I get both mammogram and MRI checks annually. My original lump was not seen on mammogram, so I am given MRIs too. I haven't had anything abnormal until now. I just had MRI late September and report came back with a focus of enhancement, 6mm. and with a type II and III (washout) kinetic curve and is T1 isointense and minimally T2 hyperintense. BI-RADS 3 with three month follow up MRI to assess if it resolves. If the focus persists, biopsy may need to be considered.

Of course, I am a nervous wreck with worry. I've been looking into this on the internet and only getting more upset, with the washout pattern being strongly suggestive of malignancy. I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar or if anyone can provide input. I had a doctor appointment to get results but had to cancel due to illness, and now appointment is not until November 8.

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  • gamzu710
    gamzu710 Member Posts: 214
    edited October 2021

    MRIs have lots of false positives. Try to remind yourself of that. My breast surgeon emphasized this to me when she referred me for MRI after my excision biopsy came back with IDC and told me to hold off on any panic until after we had all the information in. Sure enough, the MRI came back with 3 more areas identified as BIRADS 4. Including one that was described as 4.5 cm of "clumped, segmental, asymmetric" non-mass enhancement, in the contralateral breast. Studies I found suggested that those descriptors turned out to be DCIS about 90% of the time. I freaked and figured I was headed straight for BMX and that both breasts were probably littered with malignancy.

    Except mine turned out to be PASH, which was what the other 10% tended to be. The other two BIRADS 4 sites came back as ductal ectasia and benign fibrocystic change. 3 sites identified by MRI as suspicious and all 3 sites turned out to be nothing.

    It is impossible not to worry and I'm sorry about the delay in your appointment. But try to take things one step at a time. Dr. Google is a very imprecise radiologist.

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  • kathabus
    kathabus Member Posts: 205
    edited October 2021

    I had washout kinetics, about the same size as yours, birads 4. It wound up being a papilloma.

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  • MapleBud
    MapleBud Member Posts: 7
    edited October 2021

    Kathabus, thank you for your comment. I appreciate it. I hope you are doing well 💞

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  • MapleBud
    MapleBud Member Posts: 7
    edited October 2021

    Hi gamzu710...

    Thank you for responding to my post. I'm relieved to hear your suspicious MRI results ended up benign. I'm sorry you had breast cancer, then the worry that there might be more. The fear never goes away. But the thankfulness for life is increased too. I hope you are well. 💞

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