Anonymous wrote:Do you have a spiculated lesion on your mammogram, OP? This is something very, very specific. The quote you refer to has to do with spiculated lesions and nothing from your previous posts indicate that is what they saw. If you had a spiculated lesion you would be birad 5. It also refers to invasive cancer and nothing you wrote is focusing exclusively on invasive as opposed to DCIS. This is why I suggested you walk away from the internet, and I'm sorry if you disagree with that advice, but at least you should avoid latching on to these things.

You have calcifications. That is not the same thing as spculated lesions, or any kind of lesions. And the possible outcomes for your biopsy are not just ,malignant or benign. Its possible that you have nothing there at all, just calcifications. Notice the list of benign lesions in that quote -- none of those apply to you. They haven't seen a lesion and you may not have one at all. In other words, this quote does not apply to you.

I guess this sort of thing is making you feel better, but I don;t see how. Everything you post seems much more alarmist than the actual situation.

Let me guess, it's the bc survivor again. I want to be polite since I tend to refrain from being nasty on here - but can you stay off this thread? You seem to follow this thread closely for the sole purpose of picking apart my every post. This is not helpful. You telling me I'm an alarmist is also not helpful, even if that's how you see it. FWIW I haven't posted every detail from my mammo report. This is my journey and I'm handling it the best way I can. I don't know why anyone would be offended or bothered by my choices. I merely want to document this process for anyone else who finds themself in a similar position. I searched the archives and didn't come up with much, so I started this thread. The encouraging words and best wishes from other pp's have been great. It's awful to have to wait like this - even if YOU believe it's nothing, you're not my doctor or even a doctor at all I'm guessing. So why minimize my concern? As a mother of three I'd like to not focus on the what ifs, but it sure is hard.

Do you have a spiculated lesion on your mammogram, OP? This is something very, very specific. The quote you refer to has to do with spiculated lesions and nothing from your previous posts indicate that is what they saw. If you had a spiculated lesion you would be birad 5. It also refers to invasive cancer and nothing you wrote is focusing exclusively on invasive as opposed to DCIS. This is why I suggested you walk away from the internet, and I'm sorry if you disagree with that advice, but at least you should avoid latching on to these things.

You have calcifications. That is not the same thing as spculated lesions, or any kind of lesions. And the possible outcomes for your biopsy are not just ,malignant or benign. Its possible that you have nothing there at all, just calcifications. Notice the list of benign lesions in that quote -- none of those apply to you. They haven't seen a lesion and you may not have one at all. In other words, this quote does not apply to you.

I guess this sort of thing is making you feel better, but I don;t see how. Everything you post seems much more alarmist than the actual situation.

Good luck OP. I will be crossing fingers for you. A friend just diagnosed at 37--with no family history, found the lump herself. ack.

Op here: I finally have a biopsy appointment, Nov. 30th.

I wanted to post this link for others, it shows what abnormalities of the breast look like:
http://www.worldwidebreastcancer.com/what-does-breast-cancer-look-like/

Anonymous wrote:Hey PP did you get your biopsy date yet? Just checking up on you . I'm the breast pain PP from before and from another thread - I'm having an ultrasound done now - I'm doing all mine through Washington Radiology. When I called to schedule everything was super duper booked. I'm going to a remote location but not for a few weeks. I don't think mine is considered as urgent as yours would be. Anyway I'm thinking of you..

Op here: Thank you. I am seeing a Nurse Practitioner (at another practice) tomorrow, so she can order the biopsy. My OB/GYN would not/could not? order the biopsy. When I called back to my doctor's office to ask them to fax the order to the surgeon I selected the woman seemed a little peeved. She said, "Oh, you're not going to the surgeon we recommended?" There was a little back and forth after that about what the OB would not do and would not order. She was not pleasant. The new office was quite accommodating with the appointment with the NP, telling me things will move quickly after that. They have already submitted the films I dropped off last week for a second opinion read.

Despite what everyone on this thread believes is best, I am still researching. And if anyone reads this down the line I want to post what I have found. Please, no more "stay off the internet!" suggestions, I'm doing what I find helpful for me. When you're in my shoes, please do what you find helpful for you. And right now, Google U is where I'm studying. I will certainly obtain as much information as possible from the doctor's as well, but I believe there is a balance - a collaborative effort if you will. Afterall, it is MY health.

Without further ado, here is what I found:

Sclerosing adenosis may present a diagnostic dilemma for the pathologist because stromal sclerosis and elastosis may mimic infiltrating carcinoma. At mammography, sclerosing adenosis forms part of a differential diagnosis for spiculated lesions that includes both malignant lesions (eg, infiltrating ductal carcinoma, infiltrating lobular carcinoma, tubular carcinoma, ductal carcinoma in situ) and benign lesions (eg, postoperative scar, radial scar, fat necrosis, tuberculosis).

Sclerosing adenosis is what I was looking for all along without knowing it! A condition that can look like cancer on a mammogram, but not actually BE cancer. Now this is encouraging. Banking on being the in the 20% of the BIRAD 4C women that are benign wasn't enough to calm my fears. Adding the sclerosing possibility to the mix is really helping me get through this wait. Along with reading the stories of women on breastcancer.org who were diagnosed and made it through. Now I can relax and breathe. And I pray that someone else reads this one day and feels the same way.

Hey PP did you get your biopsy date yet? Just checking up on you . I'm the breast pain PP from before and from another thread - I'm having an ultrasound done now - I'm doing all mine through Washington Radiology. When I called to schedule everything was super duper booked. I'm going to a remote location but not for a few weeks. I don't think mine is considered as urgent as yours would be. Anyway I'm thinking of you..

Anonymous wrote:PP with strong family history again-- BRCA on my mom was negative which we found shocking so no chance of insurance paying. We clearly have some genetic issue but science hasn't found it yet! I wish such a strong family history would be enough for a claim.

I think this pp was referring to insurance paying for prophylactic surgery, not the BRCA test. In response to an earlier post, I know lots of people who have had the BRCA test done without a bc diagnosis but with family history (myself included).

Nevertheless, this is getting off topic from the OP's original post. OP, I am thinking of you and wishing you the best. Good luck and please continue to update here. I think a lot of us are concerned for you.

PP with strong family history again-- BRCA on my mom was negative which we found shocking so no chance of insurance paying. We clearly have some genetic issue but science hasn't found it yet! I wish such a strong family history would be enough for a claim.

PP who had bc again. I think you can probably get insurance to pay for the BRCA test if you have a strong family history. There is a website for women with genetic breast cancer, I think its force.org. (FORCE -- Facing Our Genetic Risk Cancer something -- I could be wrong but I think if you google it you can find it). I had the BRCA test because I had bc at a young age and was negative. I have no family history and most women who get bc have no family history I've discovered. The biggest risk factor is being female.

Are you sure that fibrocystic breasts increase your risk? I thought that was disproven. Again, ask your doctor. This is the sort of thing where you can find information on the internet because it is a widely held belief, but the information might be totally incorrect. I don't know, its just my understanding. I do see a lot of catastraphizing in your posts and you should just be aware of it. It sounds like when you see a scrap of information you latch on to the most negative interpretation and as I've written, some if it is totally inaccurate.

Ironically, if you have DCIS you are more likely to have a mastectomy than if you have an actual tumor because DCIS tends to be more diffuse.

I'm thinking of you too, OP.

Thanks for the info on the biopsy, I will keep it in mind. I requested the BRCA test. Insurance pays with a strong family history. After I turned 40, the idea of yearly mammograms was really disturbing me. I figured my "out" would be a positive BRCA, followed by a "free" mastectomy and reconstruction. I would love not to worry about this again. Yes, I know the risk will never be zero. But having fibrocystic, dense breasts puts you in an entirely different ball game.

I'm sorry you live on fear pp, with such a strong family history you'd think the insurance company would pay for a prophylactic mastectomy if you wanted it. Have you asked them?

Hi OP-- a few things. The other pp are really good and knowledgeable. While I haven't had b/c my grandmother, mother and aunt all died from it. It is something I live in fear of. I have had micro-calcifications which have been benign. Unfortunately my family is BRCA negative so getting insurance to pay to take my boobs off isn't going to happen. I haven't heard of anyone without a b/c diagnosis getting the BRCA test. Who recommended that? I worry that youse not be getting good information from your providers. I will tell you that my califications were found on MRI (I do mammo and MRI switching every six months) and I was in with ultrasound and biopsy two days later. Longest two days of my life!

It was a horrible time for us though and now I really dread every appointment. Regardless, hang in there, push for the answers you need and get off the Internet!!! I will tell you that with both my Mom and my aunt both only found out because of a regular mammo. One year it was clean and the next it wasn't. No pain, no symptoms, no califications. Of course that was 10 years ago. Shoot, I don't know of that helps. But I have been there and I hate to think you are there too!

Anonymous wrote:Op here again: My fear has calmed some. I thank everyone sending their prayers and good wishes. This wait is agonizing! I don't yet have a date for the biopsy. I've read about some women having all in the same day - mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy. I wish I had asked my doctor about this up front. Maybe she could have ordered it that way, I don't know.

I must be different from a lot of others. For me information is power. It doesn't increase any anxiety that's already presenting. In this instance, I have found it helpful to allay my fears. Women are diagnosed with breast cancer and many have successful treatment. After reading so many stories of these courageous women, I feel more confident that I can handle any news. It did throw me off balance to read the "highly suspicious of left breast cancer" on the paper with my name.

Reading is also giving me what I feel may be helpful tips should I get that dx. Like the biopsy, if I had read that sooner I would have asked and could've possibly avoided this torturous wait. I like to go in to an appointment fully loaded, so I can ask thoughtful, informed questions based on what the doctor tells me. I'm not the type to leave my health in someone else's hands.

Still waiting on my BRCA results, it's been nearly three weeks. My paternal grandmother had b/c young and died of pancreatic cancer. That's the only hx to my knowledge. But I'm not close with that side of the family, so if someone else was dx I really wouldn't know.

Thanks again everyone - I promise to post my results.

PP breast cancer survivor again. There are different kinds of biopsies. The one on the office is a needle biopsy. Since you don't have a lump(right?) they will either have to do a mammogram guided biopsy (where they remove a tiny bit of tissue - I've had a couple of those) or a surgical biopsy. if they suggest a surgical biopsy I would push them on whether it is really necessary.

I didn't mean to suggest that knowledge is a bad thing, only that you need to make sure the knowledge you read is correct.

Op here again: My fear has calmed some. I thank everyone sending their prayers and good wishes. This wait is agonizing! I don't yet have a date for the biopsy. I've read about some women having all in the same day - mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy. I wish I had asked my doctor about this up front. Maybe she could have ordered it that way, I don't know.

I must be different from a lot of others. For me information is power. It doesn't increase any anxiety that's already presenting. In this instance, I have found it helpful to allay my fears. Women are diagnosed with breast cancer and many have successful treatment. After reading so many stories of these courageous women, I feel more confident that I can handle any news. It did throw me off balance to read the "highly suspicious of left breast cancer" on the paper with my name.

Reading is also giving me what I feel may be helpful tips should I get that dx. Like the biopsy, if I had read that sooner I would have asked and could've possibly avoided this torturous wait. I like to go in to an appointment fully loaded, so I can ask thoughtful, informed questions based on what the doctor tells me. I'm not the type to leave my health in someone else's hands.

Still waiting on my BRCA results, it's been nearly three weeks. My paternal grandmother had b/c young and died of pancreatic cancer. That's the only hx to my knowledge. But I'm not close with that side of the family, so if someone else was dx I really wouldn't know.

Thanks again everyone - I promise to post my results.

Praying for you, OP! I agree with not reading things on the internet; it will only increase your anxiety. Please let us know how everything goes.