Topic: Mammo ok - but they want me to see a surgeon??

I had felt a lump that they could not find on the mammo either.  The doctors then could not find it on the sonogram.  Since they could clearly feel it, they sent me for a surgical consult.  The surgeon did the biopsy the same day as the consult after finding the mass on the sonogram.  I have invasive lobular carcinoma...a particularly sneaky type of breast cancer that often does not show on mammos.  Since then I've read that up to 22% of mammos are false negatives.  I'm not sharing this to scare you, but given my experience, I think it would behoove you to have this checked out further.  If it's nothing, great!  I'll be hoping it's nothing.

G

 Hi, I've been following this board for over a year but this is the first time I really felt compelled to add my 2 cents.

I don't want to frighten you, but my story is this: I had a mammogram & subsequent ultrasound after finding a lump that seemingly popped up overnight. The doctor that read the scans told me I was "fine" & the lump was "completely superficial" and it was unecessary to follow up with the appointment I had sceduled with a highly regarded breast surgeon (just in case). This was coming from a doctor at a prominent hospital's women's imaging center so I took his advice, despite having reservations. Long story short, less than a year later I was diagnosed Stage III and when I  had my pre-surgery mammo & ultrasound the cancer STILL did not show up. Only the biopsy & MRI found it.

Go with your intuition on this. I didn't, and I am still furious with myself for it.

Best of luck.

Good! I wish I had done that. I have 2 lumps, and I know one was smaller a few mons ago. I go tomorrow for diagnostics. This has been the SLOWEST week! Let us know how you are doing!

momzybaby - your story is heartbreaking! I can't believe that there isn't a better system out htere for those who don't have the means to save their own lives! Maybe you could raise the issue on the Komen website? Or, maybe with the ACS? Go public! Women shouldn't have to worry about that; they have enough to think about. That is just unacceptable! God Bless, I will be thinking about you.

Thanks Momcat. I am going to try the website. Also, I am dedicating tomorrow not to work or anything but to try and get a surgeon to see me sooner than December. My neighbor is also going through problems and she has insurance. The doctors keep ordering one thing after another and she has to wait a month or two for each new test. She has discharge coming from a cyst that popped during a mammogram and is still trying to get to the bottom of things. I never heard of Komen website or ACS., I am very new to all of this and was just hoping to find some help online. Thanks again. I will let you know how it turns out tomorrow.

My lump was not found on a mammogram, but it was found on an ultrasound.  Good luck on the appt.  I agree with Whippetmom - it is money well spent! 

Yeah! I have been at it all day and I am now going to see a surgeon this Thursday. Luckily I do not have a full time job at this point. It is becoming very time consuming. I am excited to see the surgeon and hope for good results.

I would call  and ask why they want you to see a surgeon. Tell them you need a clear reason for the referral.  Also, ask for a written copy of the mammo report.( I say I will come in and pick it up from the front desk.) You can study the report ahead of your visit to the surgeon and make a list of questions to ask.

Some mammo centers do a 2nd reading or a computer reading of your mammogram.  Maybe they found something when they took a 2nd look at your films.  The first reading of my mammogram found a spot at 2:00. A 2nd reading picked up another questionable area at 11:00!