Painful mammogram and now recall for suspicious lump

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  • SundaysChild
    SundaysChild Member Posts: 12
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    arpie said:

    It's Good that you've had your meeting @SundaysChild - even tho it appears to have raised more questions than answers.

    A week's wait is neither 'here nor there'  - it is highly unlikely to cause any concern with your ongoing diagnosis or treatment. 

    When it boils down to it - it is your body - & your choice.  Do what is right for you.  Get your pregnancy test done (all the best with that!) .... then take things from there.  

    To get accurately diagnosed, you usually need to have at least one biopsy and ultrasounds (the biopsy is often under an ultrasound) & (sometimes) more mammograms and possibly other scans.    Did they explain why they can't do the biopsy under ultrasound (rather than Mammogram), knowing that you weren't too fussed with your previous mammogram?

    All the best xx

    Thanks for your thoughts @arpie - they said the ultrasound wouldn't pick up the calcifications because of how small they are and where they were located. The ultrasounds they did didn't appear to pick up anything sinister - it's the calcifications they are concerned about. 

    I just read about the concerns in having more than one mammogram every two years unnecessarily and this would be four in less than 2 weeks.

    I feel like I'm going around in circles. Everyone I speak to seems to think it's a no-brainer and I should have it for peace of mind. xx
  • kmakm
    kmakm Member Posts: 7,974
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    A tiny amount of radiation vs catching cancer really early? I don't mean to be harsh, but please please please think this over very very carefully. K xox
  • iserbrown
    iserbrown Member Posts: 5,552
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    @SundaysChild
    It sounds like a no brainer. 
    Peace of mind is a blessing
    Please give ihe extra tests due consideration 
    The medical team has your health and well-being as a priority 

    Take care
  • kezmusc
    kezmusc Member Posts: 1,544
    edited March 2019
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    Hey @SundaysChild,

    A week is not going to be an issue.  At least then you can sort out the possible pregnancy.  You need to not worry so much about the mammogram radiation.  It's a tiny amount.  Much less than a normal old xray which nobody would think twice about going to have a dozen of if needed.

     Mammo's and u/s are sometimes not super fantastic at determining what is calcification and what is something else.  This is from experience and a ridiculously hard to find tumour that looked like a few sparkly little stars in the background once it was found.   There will be a reason for doing the biopsy by mammogram I would imagine.  My first core biopsy under u/s missed it and came back as normal.  Perhaps they think there is a better chance of getting the right spot that way vs the u/s.

    Whichever way you look at it you won't rest until you know for sure what it is.  You could always get a second opinion if that would make you feel better.  There are plenty of imaging companies around, you will probably have to pay though.

    xoxoxoxo




  • Brenda5
    Brenda5 Member Posts: 2,423
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    Perhaps when you have the next mammogram you could say before they start about the pain you had afterwards? When I have my follow up ones they always say let us know if the compression gets too much. Just as I am about to say enough, the machine usually just lets go. I have only a small breast left and I have to contort in to all sorts of positions for them to get a pinch going.
  • SundaysChild
    SundaysChild Member Posts: 12
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    Hi All, just an update on this. I had the follow up appointment and the work up mammogram of the calcification. 

    The radiologist still couldn’t give a diagnosis based on these as they still looked like a cluster on the 2D film so requested a 3D mammogram, which I did. Six films all up that day. 

    The 3D showed it wasn’t a cluster at all so the radiologist was satisfied it wasn’t DCIS and didn’t require biopsy under another mammogram.

    They did a core biopsy of the lump under ultrasound and were kind enough to rush through the results in one day just cause I was so anxious and very relieved to report back the next day it was benign.

    These mammograms weren’t nearly as painful as the first one so possibly just depends on the radiographer on the day.

    Thank you all for your support. In the scheme of things it was such a petty question so I really appreciate the time you took to answer. I was so very anxious about just a diagnosis so I can’t even imagine how I would have been if the outcome was different. I have so much admiration for you all, getting through this AND supporting people you’ve never met. 

    Thanks again xx

  • kmakm
    kmakm Member Posts: 7,974
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    Excellent news!

    Now in the nicest possible way, I hope this forum never sees you again! K xox  ;)
  • Sister
    Sister Member Posts: 4,960
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    So pleased that you had good news.  The fewer of us, the better (in the nicest possible way).
  • lrb_03
    lrb_03 Member Posts: 1,267
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    Great news, so pleased for you. To repeat what's akready been said, in the nicest possible way, I hope you never need to cone back here. 
    Get out there and make the most of life every day  :)