Breast biopsy/cancer question...

[poohbear919]

I know this is an extremely personal topic, however my family's going through a *scare* with my mom right now... (Without more information/diagnosis I don't have anything better to call it than a *scare*) She had an appointment today to have a biopsy because something showed up on her mammogram a couple of weeks ago.

Today when we went to the appointment the doctor agreed that she should have the biopsy, however the spot is far back in the breast and difficult to reach... The doctor tried to do an ultrasound guided biopsy but couldn't locate the spot. Now she's being sent to a hospital sometime in the next three weeks where they'll attempt another ultrasound guided biopsy, though if that's not possible with their improved technology they'll do a stereotactic biopsy.

Has anyone out there been through this and had the result of the biopsy still be benign?

I thought I'd turn to you all on the boards for any information that you could provide as you are all quite knowledgeable on many, many topics!

 

[Mackey Mouse]

My husband had an ultrasound biopsy, but his was in a lymph node behind the clavicle. We knew it was cancerous as he had a scan first, but they were trying to locate it and make sure of the size..

Hopefully some of our breast cancer survivors will weigh in over here...

 

[NHAnn]

A greater percentage of breast biopsies are benign than are cancer!
My husband has a saying that my new ever-expanding group of "breast cancer" friends have adopted: "Dont bleed until you're shot!" It's very hard though, the waiting and anxiety of the diagnois process is soooo difficut, more difficult than the physical aspect of it most would say!!

When I had my breast cancer diagnosis, I had an excisional (surgical) biopsy of a whole area of microcalcifications which ended up being in the 10-15% of such cases which are ductal (non-invasiive) breast cancer. (DCIS) DCIS doesn't show on ultrasounds. A year later I had another area int he other breast they wanted to biopsy (again, no "lump" hence no ultrasound) and this time had a stereotactic biopsy. It was benign.

A sister of mine recently found a 2 cm lump, it was hard to locate on physical exam though they could see it on mamm and ultrasound. She had a surgical excision of the whole lump and it was a benign fibroadenoma.

Does your mom have access to a facility where there are breast specialists?? (Is that why she's referred elsewhere by her doctor?)

There is a website breastcancer.org that is very helpfuland easy to read/navigate.

I also would welcome you to come pose your questions/concerns to the ladies on the DIS who have started a thread to help breast cancer patients, ladies going through a scare, or family members of patients/survivors who have questions. Most on the thread are survivors, but some just DISers with concerns or suppporters of breast cancer survivors, DISers with family members with breast cancer, people like yourself with questions. It's a very long thread, has been running 2+ years, and some of it is social/chit-chat ....so just hop right onto the end, don't feel you need to read the whole thread!! We'd be happy to answer questions or just give you moral support as you go through this process with your mom

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=19039269&posted=1#post19039269

 

[MerryPoppins]

I'm another Breast Cancer thread lady checking in.

Hang in there. Try not to jump to conclusions. Most will indeed be benign. Come talk to us and we'll offer shoulders to lean on during your scare. Waiting is no fun.

 

[Mackey Mouse]

There is a breast cancer survivor thread on the CB.. these ladies are phenomal, some I have actually met in the past. Love ya Ann.. Anyway I posted and asked them to come check in with you and give you their words of wisdom....

Hugs to you and to our terrific survivors..

 

[snappy]

I have to leave right now for an early swim team carpool but I'll check in later. Just wanted you to know that you are most welcome on our Survivor thread. As Ann said, lots of posters are women or relatives of women having daignostic tests, just as your mother is.

The only thing that comes to my mind right now is that someone should go with your mom to each appointment as it is difficult to absorb everything that is said when you are worried.

 

[snappy]

I wanted to add that my first biopsy was a stereotactic one, guided by mammography. Mine was different in that one "area of concern" was very close to the skin surface. Believe it or not being so close to the skin was tricky, as the needle is designed to go down a certain depth. Mine was done by a radiologist in a hospital where many such biopsies are done. It was apparently very easy for the radiologist to see the suspicious areas. My cancer was like Ann's, primarily DCIS. It was detected due to calcifications seen on a routine mammogram, age 49, no "lump" was ever in evidence.

I was told that 80% of all biopsies are benign. I believe the docs like to err on the side of caution when they see microcalcifications. Those little buggers are tricky, apparently most women get these as they age, it is only when they CHANGE from one mammo to the next or if they are CLUSTERED around a focal point while bein mostly small and irregular in shape that they are suspect.

I can't speak to the area being far back in the breast. If you post over on the survivor thread, someone there may have had a similar situation.

 

[Christine]

I have had 4 breast lumps removed over the years (all excisional biopsies) and all have been benign. It is terribly scary and every year that I have a mammogram I fear the worst.

 

[snappy]

It is scary, certainly, but many breast cancers are very treatable. The key is being vigilant. I also think having the right doctor is critical.

 

[annrae]

I am very glad that you decided to come to the disboards. I've been on for about 2 years now and these ladies are incredibly knowledgeable not only about bc but about life in general. I have met one lady but at the time she did not know about my cancer.

I, too, had DCIS, surgery and radiation and I just had my 3rd year check and all is well. The waiting is so difficult. So much progress has been made in this field and it sounds like your Mom is on the right track - very important to have a good doctor. I am also from Upstate NY and know of a very good clinic where they see only people who have had a suspicious mammogram. I am in the Rochester area so if you would like to pm me I would be very happy to tell you where I went and who my surgeon is.

Take care and as Ann's husband said "Don't bleed until you are shot". Ann, you have no idea how many times I've said this to my children!!!

As I said, the ladies on the breast cancer diiscussion forum are the best so please "talk" to them. I know there is a rainbow around the corner for your Mom.

 

[poohbear919]

Thank you so much for all the support, information, and guidance that you've given already... (I will most definitely be checking in on the CB board for Breast Cancer Survivors and Relatives...) I think we were just so distraught because we'd prepared ourselves for the biopsy to be done yesterday and then to just have a few more days of waiting for results... Now if she can't get an earlier appointment for the biopsy it'll be another three weeks.

My father and I both accompanied her to the visit yesterday and we plan to for all the rest as well. She also is fortunate enough to have 3 sisters and her mother as a support system - it's all just so shocking and scary... As I said before this was discovered on a routine mammogram and it floored us all.

She being seen at Breast Care Center at a hosptial in a nearby bigger city. Her doctor specializes in Breast Cancer Care and Breast Care Risk Assessment. He was a delightful doctor who answered all of our questions and worked to put her and us (my father and I) at ease... We are happy to have him and his staff at our disposal...

 

[goofy4tink]

Here's my mom's story....went for a physical, the first one in about 25 years, at age 69. They asked her when her last mammo was...her answer? Never had one done. Even though her mother had had a mastectomy at the same age. Well, she went for her very first mammo 2 weeks later. Thank God there was a technician who just had a gut feeling, and kept repeating the test until he saw what he had suspected...yep, a lump. She had a lumpectomy 2 weeks later, and got the good news that they got the whole thing, she would start radiation treatments the next month!!!!
Then we found that not only did she have breast cancer, as well as her mother at the same age in life, but that her aunt (her mother's sister) had bc at the same point in life. And my mother got a call from her cousin 6 months later (her mother's sister's daughter) telling her that she had had a lumpectomy the exact same week as my mother...same results!!!
Obviously, I am considered pretty high risk. But, the thing I keep in mind is this....no woman in my family has died from bc to date.
Keep in mind that there are a huge number of success stories out there. Let us know how it's going for your mom!!!

 

[jann1033]

i've had more needle biopsies than i care to remember and always have been benign so hopefully the same will be true for your family

 

[MKingdom]

I remember how I fell apart when I first heard the news that my mom might have breast cancer and I truly feel for you. That's why I wanted to share her success story with you and send you a hug! As someone who has had a loved one diagnosed with cancer, and having cancer myself, I have found that maintaining a positive outlook is incredibly important to outcome and recovery.

In 1991, when my mother was 67, her doctor felt a lump in her breast that the mammogram did not detect. It turned out to be cancer and she opted to have that breast removed. During that surgery, they did a biopsy of her other breast. (I remember the doctor saying that there was the possibility of cancer occurring in a mirror image in her other breast.) Sure enough they found precancerous cells in her other breast and mom opted to have that breast removed as well. The doctors followed up with a year of chemo and 5 years of tamoxifen.

Guess what? It's 16 YEARS later and my mom is still healthy! She no longer takes any medication but of course continues to routinely see her doctor for checkups.

My mother's cancer was my first personal brush with the disease. She is an extraordinary woman with incredible courage and a positive "can do" attitude...and her example set the stage for how I handled my own bout with thyroid cancer in 1997.

Am wishing you and your family the best!!! Stay positive!!!

MKingdom

 

[judithen]

I've just passed my 3 year mark since my breast cancer diagnosis. There were the biopsies, the neo-adjuvant chemotherapies, the mastectomy, the seromas (i.e. complications), the radiation treatments and on. I just recently finished a 6 week stint of physical therapy. It can seem overwhelming and never ending.

It's not.

There is joyful, thankful, beautiful life in spite of a frightening future. Every day is more focussed and less fragmented. The details that pre-occupied my life pre-cancer are less consequential, less important, less urgent. Having been through h*** and back, I hang onto my today much tighter.

I like to say that Disney World was my therapy. Okay, there were the medical therapies. But it was Disney that was my psychological therapy.

My reward for enduring any given treatment was a trip to WDW. It didn't matter if I needed a wheelchair, an ECV or could make it on my own 2 feet. My head was bald or spikey or permanently in "bad hair day" mode. My appetite was AWOL. My energy was fragile. But just going to my "Happy Place" gave me something else to remember besides cancer.

When you find you have cancer, any future seems non-existant. The plans and hopes that you had pre-cancer seem to have evaporated. It's hard to believe you can still live and have a good life. Oh, maybe you don't voice these thoughts to everyone or even anyone. But they're there, deep in your heart, keeping you awake, giving you nightmares.

For me, the WDW planning and completed trips were each affirmations that I still could live and I could still plan on living. Those nightmares, those fears get less and less.

"So There, Cancer! So Far, No Further!"

 

[snappy]

Great post, Judithen.

You have eloquently voiced exactly my purpose for recently buying into DVC recently, as well as the need for my post diagnosis (May 2004) and treatment visits to WDW (4 trips and counting). I consider the purchase as an affirmation in my healthy future.

Glad you have come out on the other side.

You should join a group of us on the Community Board (it is the GAGWTA Breast Survivors thread).
You'll find a great bunch of survivors who value our Disney therapy as you do.

 

[judithen]

Thank you, Snappy. DVC IS an affirmation that there's a future for us! And what great way to spend it!

How do I get to the GAGWTA Breast Survivors? Survivors who value Disney Therapy? What more can I ask for?!

 

[poohbear919]

Link to the GAGWTA Breast Survivors thread - http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=810357

I've posted there a few times with questions too! They are such kind, helpful posters!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I've just passed my 3 year mark since my breast cancer diagnosis. There were the biopsies, the neo-adjuvant chemotherapies, the mastectomy, the seromas (i.e. complications), the radiation treatments and on. I just recently finished a 6 week stint of physical therapy. It can seem overwhelming and never ending.

It's not.

There is joyful, thankful, beautiful life in spite of a frightening future. Every day is more focussed and less fragmented. The details that pre-occupied my life pre-cancer are less consequential, less important, less urgent. Having been through h*** and back, I hang onto my today much tighter.

I like to say that Disney World was my therapy. Okay, there were the medical therapies. But it was Disney that was my psychological therapy.

My reward for enduring any given treatment was a trip to WDW. It didn't matter if I needed a wheelchair, an ECV or could make it on my own 2 feet. My head was bald or spikey or permanently in "bad hair day" mode. My appetite was AWOL. My energy was fragile. But just going to my "Happy Place" gave me something else to remember besides cancer.

When you find you have cancer, any future seems non-existant. The plans and hopes that you had pre-cancer seem to have evaporated. It's hard to believe you can still live and have a good life. Oh, maybe you don't voice these thoughts to everyone or even anyone. But they're there, deep in your heart, keeping you awake, giving you nightmares.

For me, the WDW planning and completed trips were each affirmations that I still could live and I could still plan on living. Those nightmares, those fears get less and less.

"So There, Cancer! So Far, No Further!"

Great post - I can totally relate! Hope to see you on GAGWTA!

 

[Poohbear67]

I am a B/C Surv. (going on 7yrs in August) myself and the best advise I can give you is please get all the informed information you can from your doctors and always get a 2nd opinion.

I know she will be okay. I am sending lots of prayers your way, oh and some pixie dust too.