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Scheduling a breast biopsy and dont know which to choose. scared and confused.

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Posted 11/13/2011 4:09 AM (GMT 0)
hi everyone-

my name is valerie and i am new here. i am 32 years old, a wife and a mom to 3 children, all aged under 3 years old (2, 1 and 8 months). i found a suspicious lump while performing a breast exam at home. i schedulled an appt with my doctor in town (who performed an exam and felt the same thing- he said it was "probably benign". i had a digital mammogram the following week (2 weeks ago) and an ultrasound of my left breast.

i met the general surgeon at the hospital a week later (dr barnes at mccready hospital in crisfield, MD), and he tells me that there is a lump in there, around 3/4 of an inch, and showed me the film. luckily my breasts are not dense. he says to me that it doesnt look like a big deal, as it was rounded in some way. so, he gives me these options: run away screaming and never come back (haha), have a mammogram again in 6-8 months to see if it grows or changes shape, or have a biopsy. he reccomended a repeat mamm. in 6 months because of my age, etc.

 

at first i agreed, and a mammogram was scheduled for may 2012. a few days later it began to bother me and i decided i dont want to have this in the back of my head for 6 months.so the doc tells me that since he cant really feel it, but can see it on this film, he recommends a sterotactic biopsy. i agreed, not knowing what was involved. i have a very low pain tolerance, i am a big chicken when it comes to pressure (all 3 kids were delivered via c-section), and i am just freaking out. i have fibromyalgia and sleep apnea (just got this god-awful cpap machine last week) as well, and have a hard time breathing, and am large chested (like 44DDD). i cant lie on my stomach on a table for an hour. valium does not work.

so what should i do? opt for the open surgery? that is how i would feel most comfortable, but it seems my doctor is trying to push me away from doing that...and i dont want to bother him changing my mind yet a THIRD time.

 

i am sorry this is so long.....and i hope someone can give me some insight.

 

nice to meet all of you! 
Posted 11/13/2011 11:13 AM (GMT 0)
I had a lump detected on the mammogram and it was malignant. I have since had the biopsy, the surgery, the radiation treatments and the tamoxifen. But, I am still here. I do not think it is a good idea to ignore a lump as they can be very aggressive. A biopsy should tell you what you want to know, and it should be done soon. This is not the time to be squeamish or a chicken. It is the time to be brave and get it seen to. I am also a 44 DD and it makes no difference at all. You don't need to lie on your stomach, do you? I didn't. So much depends of the size of the lump if it is malignant and the idea of leaving it would worry me, unless there is some good reason to think that it is ok.
Posted 11/15/2011 12:29 AM (GMT 0)
It sounds like the surgeon thinks this is a fibroadenoma, which is round a smooth and usually not an issue. This is my personal opinion. A little scar is worth the peace of mind, and a biopsy is the only way to know exactly what this is. Yes, they can watch it and wait to see if it changes. If you are comfortable with that, then good. If not, have the biopsy. And if you want a surgical biopsy in an OR, then tell them that! You need to be comfortable with what is happening. And I'm sure the doctor feels the same way.

Take care, and let us know... be your own advocate!

Hugs...
BEV
Posted 11/15/2011 11:28 PM (GMT 0)
My biopsy for a very small cancer was the removal of the tumor. My little lump was irregular, looked like cancer on mammogram. There was no point in taking a biopsy, since it was small.

The only hard part was it was clear back on my chest wall, so I had to go through getting 2 wires stuck into it up in radiology, then go to the OR for the surgery. I only had MAC for anesthesia - no tube down the throat. Much nicer.

Mine was malignant. I'm glad I didn't wait with a bunch of fooling around. It popped up in only a year. If it hadn't been caught then I wouldn't have been able to have it checked for oncotype. I got away with no chemo!
Posted 11/16/2011 12:35 AM (GMT 0)
Before you make a final decision, do try to do this:
Find a certified Breast surgeon. You need to be treated, followed and advised by someone who specializes in breasts....not just a general surgeon.
If you do nothing else...this is most important. You start out with someone who has your best interests at heart and knows what to do.
Look at it this way...you have a fire in the garage...do you call the neighbor to bring over a garden hose?, or do you call the fire department?? same thing...
Janice
Posted 11/27/2011 6:15 AM (GMT 0)
I had a stereotactic biopsy a few weeks ago. Like you, I have a very low pain threshold and cannot lay on my stomach (back and hip pain).

The biopsy was more emotionally traumatic than physical. They spent 45 mintues repositioning me on the table, and the biopsy took only about 10 minutes total (including getting the local). The only pain I felt was a little bit with the local. My back and hip hurt afterwards for the next day, but not horribly.

My breast was a little sore the rest of the day (took one Percocet). After that, I did not need any pain medicine. A few weeks later, my breast is still a little tender if I push on it, but barely noticeable otherwise.

I say, go for the stereotactic biopsy--it is minimally invasive, causes little pain, and is MUCH less traumatic than a surgical biopsy.

Posted 1/5/2012 10:35 PM (GMT 0)
I had a stereotactic biopsy yesterday on both breasts due to microcalcifications found on a mammogram. Although I can usually tolerate pain, I was not looking forward to the procedure, mostly becauise I had read some on-line horror stories.  So, I wanted to make sure that you and others hear a positive story.  Since both breasts were biopsied, I was there for 2 - 2 1/2 hours.  The prone table was a little uncomfortable and it was hard to lay still, but I am so glad I did it.  The pain was VERY minimal.  I felt the lidocaine stick and that was about it.  When the probe was inserted, I could feel sometime happening but no pain.  The other breast was the same.  When I finished the biopsy, I told the mammographer that I could have driven myself home.  When I got home, I was waiting for the pain but it never came.  I did not need to take any type of pain reliever.  Luckily, the results were benign.

I think the most important factor in this positive experience was finding a very reputable radiologist.  My doctor referred me to a women's diagnostic center who does only stereotactic biopsies, ultrasound biopsies, etc.  They are very experienced and do this multiple times daily.  They were very professional.  They let me know during the procedure exactly what was happening and offered multiple opportunities for me to ask questions.  They were very thorough and caring.

And, they sent me home with information on what I could expect and even the doctor's night time cell number.  I was so impressed.  In this day and age, it is difficult to get a doctor's home number. 

I would have the stereotactic biopsy.  It would be better than 6 months of worrying and it really was not painful at all.  It will be a piece of cake compared to having children!

Posted 1/6/2012 5:44 AM (GMT 0)
Mommy, I'm extremely blunt, so please don't take alarm in what I say.

First off, a lump is a lump. There are two types of cancer (hear me out mods). An adnormal growth (like a lump) can be either Benign Cancer (just a tumor and no alarm will prob go away on its own) or Cancerous Cancer (yikes). 99% of the time it is Benign (no worries).

In my honest opinion, I'd do a MRI and ultrasound as well as blood work (such as CBC CHEM 20, etc). I personally never had breast cancer, BUT, I am in Chemotherapy. I personally know how scared you are, as each and everyone else here does. If the MRI shows a hard growth, then get a biopsy.

Try thinking of it this way: say Elmo had a growth in their chest and didn't get a biospy. A year later Elmo dies unexpectedly. Why? Turns out the growth was cancerous and it spread all through the body and became terminal. So is it really worth putting the doctors off and worrying?

Also, I get many lumps in my BIG bosom too, they are usually just lumps that go away which are benign.

Better safe than sorry.
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