Biopsy by mammogram
I had my one year follow-up mammogram. Right breast all clear but now there's a new lump in my (previously healthy) left breast. Doc said he'd book me in for a biopsy under mammorgram. Considering the first mam hurt like hell - what is a prolonged mam gonna feel like? Has anyone had this procedure and can describe it for me please.
Advice please...
Hi everyone. Am newly diagnosed (2 weeks) and have a few questions. A routine mammogram has got me here with the details that a biopsy has found cancer cells. A visit to the specialist didnt tell me anymore information other than I need to have the breast off. Pathology will then tell me what I have and treatment needed. Is this normal? I thought I would know what type of cancer I had, aggressive or not, stage etc before surgery and not after??? Also, specialist only recommends having the one off. When questioning him he says their is a slightly increased risk of it coming back in the 2nd breast. I would love to hear from others who have had to make the decision of one or two off and how they came to that decision. At this point in time i am thinking of having both off so that I wont worry about it coming back but would love to hear what others have to say. Thanks in advance.
Triple negative cancer - what are the options?
Hi all, this is my first post. I have been reading other people's posts on here and have found them to be very helpful and inspirational, you are all amazing women. My story began when I found a lump in my right breast. Mammogram, ultrasound and core biopsy followed, biopsy pathology stated it was weakly progesterone positive and was in one lympth node. This was followed by wide local excision (13/6/14) and all of my lympth nodes removed from the right arm. Pathology has come back as triple negative ( apparently the biopsy pathology results must have been an error) and that only the one lympth node was involved. I am told that it is stage 3 and grade 3. I am seeing the oncologist in 2 weeks and am trying to research as much about TNBC as I can so that I can look at all of my options to discuss with him. I am wandering if I should opt to now have a double mastectomy and reconstruction, rather than just go along with the current plan of chemo and then radiation, as the risk of reoccurrance is so high with TNBC. I'd really loved to hear other women's stories who also had TNBC and what you chose to do. Thank you for reading and thanks in advance for any advise you can offer me. Karen
Core Biopsy
Argh!! Had my 1st mammogram and ultrasound the other week. Have since met with my surgeon to discuss results he seemed pretty pleased, said there was a small area that looked a bit odd but put it down to tissue damage or something because of Radiotherapy. I have till to go for an MRI and the surgeon said I should hear about it in a few weeks. I had a missed call on Monday and had one of those voice to text messages. It was my surgeon and could I call him back needless to say I couldn't get hold of him. But haven't heard anything back so didn't worry about it too much. That was until yesterday I came home and found a letter from the hospital saying I've to go for a core biopsy in on the 11th July. Feel sick with worry now.
Not sure what's to come...
Hi all. This is my first entry on this faulous site. I was first diagnosed with DCIS breast cancer in Sept 2001. A successful lumpectomy followed. I was diagnosed again (DCIS, same breast, same scare opened) in Sept 2004 with 30 sessions of radiation. I have been clear ever since...that is until Tues. I went for my yearly Mammo and ultrasound. There was a 'suspicious" area. l had 3 core biopsies taken. Bottom line, IDC this time...same breast...different spot...Sept again! I can see a pattern here that I don't like :-) My appointment with my breast surgeon is on Monday. I'm prepared for the whole mastectomy, chemo thing. Frankly, I don't think he will have any other options. I know I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here, but I have thought through (over the last few years) what my response woukld be to a mastectomy. I think that a double would be my choice. The main reason is that I am a DD cup, so on the large side, and large isn't all it's cracked up to be. Plus, I'm not that precious about "the girls"...they've been a worry for a long time. I think I'd opt for no reconstruction, and eventually a couple of cool tattos to cover the scaring. Sorry for the immense amount of info, but if anyone has any thoughts/experience, I'd be grateful of the feedback. Janet :-)Roller coaster ride
I was diagnosed with breast cancer on 28 August this year at the age of 44. To say it has been a whirlwind is an understatement! I was intially diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at the end of May, I needed to change my diet and lose 13kg to get out of the 'at risk' category. 3 months down the track I had changed my diet, got rid of high blood pressure and achieved my goal of losing 13kg. They say things happen for a reason, by losing this 13kg I noticed some changes in my left breast - very itchy. I thought this was just changes happening as I was in my 40s. had a mamogram through Breast Screen and was confirmed as having BC. Have since had a lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy. sentinel node came back positive with spottings of cancer, was back in 1 week later and had 19 lymph nodes removed. slowly recovering from these ops, oncology appt this weds and are quite apprehensive as what to expect.
Me so far...
Hi all, at 44 I thought that I should go and have my first mammogram done and booked in for mid April 2014. I had no symptoms and regularly checked for lumps. On 6 May was required to have a followup (which everyone told me was normal so didn't take anyone with me!) more mammograms, ultrasound and 6 fine needle biopsies later I was told that they could see 3 lesions and was referred to a surgeon as a mastectomy was recommended asap. On the 3 June 2014 I had a sentinal node biopsy in the morning and a left breast skin sparing and nipple saving mastecomy. I had a lovely week in hospital (surgery and drains aside), enjoying all my meals cooked and delivered, my bed made for me and bathroom cleaned every day! I actually left hospital very refreshed!! Back to the real world, I now have to have further surgery (axillary clearance) and start chemo shortly after. The rest of my story is still to come...
All Booked In
I'm all set for more surgery next Wednesday. I'll be having a wire inserted under mammogram before surgery. Sounds awful! Apparently not as squishy as a mammogram but they haven't been able to find the marker clip under ultrasound so this is what we have to do. My very brilliant surgeon says she'll go in through the original scar, take out the tissue above it and then lift the breast slightly when she rejoins the scar. Still a bit of wiggle room because I'm lucky enough to have developed cancer in my slightly larger breast and even after the first surgery in January it remains slightly larger. My surgeon also tells me that it's 'likely' that the calcification is 'exhausted' (dead) cancer cells however there is a possibility that it's active cancer and we can't be sure until the pathology comes back a week after surgery. Thanks to everyone for your messages of love and support. X
Recently diagnosed triple neg & due for masectomy
Hi I've been reading a few posts which has been really informative and positive. Thank you. Recently I was diagnosed with BC, which was a whirlwind on first mammogram to lumpectomy and auxillary clearance. Initially it was difficult to understand how I could get BC as I had no family history, recently finished breast feeding my last baby and eat fairly well. Now I'm ok with it, by example of having drawn the short straw of 1 out of 8 women getting BC. After my surgery I was called in a week early to the surgeon and told that my breast wasn't clear of cancer and now we needed to do a masectomy. It was quite a shock. My results had also changed in that from the biopsy I was told I was estrogen positive but now from the lumpectomy results I was triple negative. I don't really understand how it can change, so hoping to get some answers from the doctor. Now the shock of needing a masectomy is over I have booked a appoint with the surgeon to see if I can get my other breast removed too at the same time. As I feel quite uneasy about it getting BC in that one too. Really not sure if the doctor will do this or not. Good news is though that I won't need radiation, only chemo. Would rather not chemo as well, but also don't want any of those cancer cells running around my body anymore. Anyway hoping when my treatment starts, it goes by super fast. There is never any time for the mum to be sick. I have 4 children and a wonderful husband, and am planning ahead to when this BC is behind me.
My Experience
HI all my name is Kirsti, I am 44 years of age, married with two sons aged 12 and 9 and a daugter aged 2. I discovered on Tuesday that I have a phyllodes tumor. I have had a lump in my right breast since late January, I had a mammogram, USS and was told intially by the sonographer that it was a cancer then told by the radiographer that it was fibrous tissue. So I sought a second opinion from a breast surgeon. He was confident it was fibrous tissue but wanted to see me in 6 weeks. I have tried to ignore it in that time but it was still there. So on the Friday I paid a visit to him, told him it had changed shape, he thought it was more prominent, he wanted to core biopsy it- (Frankly I wasnt leaving without a biopsy!) We negoiated that he would call me with the results late Tuesday after his rooms.( I live two and half hous away) We where both confident it wasn't anything "just fibrous tissue". He rang me Tuesday at lunch time with my results. Intailly I was quiet shocked then thought " its ok its not breast cancer, cut it out -all good" I contacted my colleagues at work they did a search for me while I returned to the office. This might all sound straight forward but this hasn't been and easy process, you see I am a health professional and now I find myself on the otherside! ( But have had the most awesome support from my friends and colleagues). I finally got around to reading the information on Wednesday morning and had a meltdown- to say this was not a good day would be an understatement! Most disconcerting for me has been the lack of scientific information, HOWEVER I have read all your blogs and it has given me great hope. I am putting positive vibes out to the universe that I will not be in the 1% of malignacies and that I wont have to return for further sugery. All of your positivity is just fantastic, I like that I can now realte to others who understand this are diagnosis. It is my hope that out of my experience I can help others, I will be speaking to my surgeon to look into research for this type of tumor, find out why they occur, further treatment options and most of prevention. I want to urge others not to give up on "fibrous tissue" and have it investigated more. Thanks for listening to me!