Report says asymmetric breast tissue
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Hi there - I had the same exact report to my mammogram. Asymmetry. It was the follow up ultrasound where the prominent duct was discovered. The doctor says it is "most probably benign," but I still have the pain that you are describing. Please post what your doctor says about the pain - my doctor hasn't been able to give me any "real" answers. I am going to a breast specialist on Monday, hopefully I'll get some answers then!!
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I had pain that caused me to discover a tiny garden of nodules that did not show up in the diagnostic mammagram but were easily visible in the US. After the core biopsy, the diagnosis was benign with chronic inflammation. The radiologist had mentioned that pain often accompanies inflammation. A breast specialist is a great idea.
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I second to what Cynbatt said, A breast specialist is needed to give you better DX or to ease your concern.0
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It sounds like there are different types of breast asymmmetry.
This article describes and illustrates the four types of asymmetry found at mammography (asymmetry, global asymmetry, focal asymmetry, and developing asymmetry). For each type of asymmetry, the article also indicates the frequency of occurrence, likelihood of malignancy, standard imaging work-up, assessment, and management. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17888767
Developing asymmetry was present in 292 (0.16%) of 180,801 consecutive screening examinations and 32 (0.11%) of 27,330 consecutive diagnostic examinations. After exclusion for absent data, the study consisted of 281 screening and 30 diagnostic cases. In the 281 cases of screening-detected developing asymmetry, biopsy was recommended and was performed in 84 (29.9%) of the cases. Thirty-six cases of cancer were identified, resulting in a positive predictive value of 12.8%, obtained by division of the number of cases of cancers by the number of examinations with abnormal mammographic findings (PPV1), and a PPV2 of 42.9%, obtained by division of the number of cases of cancer by the number of mammographic examinations in which findings led to a recommendation for biopsy. Biopsy was recommended and performed in 26 (86.7%) of the 30 cases of diagnostic mammography. Eight cases of cancer were identified, resulting in a PPV1 of 26.7% and a PPV2 of 30.8%.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17312052
In this study Overall, one (5%) in 20 invasive cancers was identified with asymmetry, one (6%) in 16 invasive cancers was identified with architectural distortion, one (21%) in five invasive cancers was identified with calcifications, and two (68%) in three invasive cancers were identified with a mass. CONCLUSION: Five percent of invasive cancers were identified with asymmetry, and asymmetry is more weakly associated with cancer in screening examinations than are mass, calcifications, and architectural distortion.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19164116 (emphasis mine)
Hang in there.
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Just checking in - I know you said you were meeting with the doctor today. What did you find out? I hope she was able to put your mind at ease...
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I actually see her at 4 pm today (pacific time) so after work. I'm really hoping that she will ease my mind a bit, as I don't know yet when my u/s will be scheduled. I am going to call the u/s clinic today just to ask if my Dr. sent the requisition over, and hopefully to jog their minds a bit to schedule me in asap. The funny thing is, the pain has lessened quite a bit. I'm on day 5 of my period today, and while I have never really gotten cyclical pain before, who knows if that didn't contribute to it. It started to ease a bit on Tues, which would have been day 3, and I have quite short menstrual periods so the lessening of hormones might have had some impact.
All this waiting is true torture for so many, and while everyone around you encourages you (quite rightly) to stay positive, sometimes things creep into your mind and cause distress and anxiety. I'm trying to stay calm, and tell myself that at this point neither the radiologists nor my Dr. seem to be too freaked out by this, so there is a good chance it will all be ok. I know there's a chance it might not, but also the odds are on my side that it will be ok, and I have to concentrate on those odds and believe it will all be ok.
Thanks so much for checking in. I'll try to post more later,
Kim
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There is no way you can not be worried. It's perfectly normal. I'm an absolute optimist and I rarely worry but even I had a period , between early diagnosis and definitive dx, where I felt I was going to die an early and horrible death. Fortunately, it didn't last long. Don't beat yourself up over it - it's perfectly normal. It's probably benign but it's frightening nonetheless.
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Well, I saw my Dr. today and I can say I definitely feel much, much better. My husband went along with me, because I rarely seem to be able to remember what was said. She sat down and read the report with me. The biggest thing? This darn asymmetric tissue has been present in previous mammograms dating back to 2005....the year I turned 40 and the year I started having mammograms. Sheesh. So basically it said it looked slightly different than the other side, but the report said it wasn't that much different and it said it looked like normal tissue, with no striking abnormalities, no architectural distortions, no mass, and no calcifications. The report said it has the appearance of normal breast tissue but they are recommending an ultrasound just to be safe.
My sister went down to imaging in the hospital this morning. She works there, and knows a lady who does booking for ultrasounds. Anyway, this lady said that the two radiologists working at the hospital are quite new and that they have been calling back a huge, huge number of screening mammo's just to be safe. The ultrasound people are way behind on bookings and most of them are from mammograms.
My Dr. called imaging while I was in the office but they had already left. She left a message to call her back and she is going to press for an ultrasound as soon as she can get me in, just for my peace of mind. She said she sees absolutely no reason why the ultrasound will show anything different than the mammograms, and if it comes back fine we will do another ultrasound in 6 months to be safe. Then another mammo at my regular time.
So I do feel better, knowing that this has been there since I started having mammograms, but the radiologists I guess didn't think it was an issue of concern before this last time. If it was slightly different on the view, my Dr. said could be explained by a number of reasons, including weight gain or weight loss, time of the cycle, etc.
Oh, and when I mentioned that my pain had virtually gone away (except for the odd twinge which could be explained by the two mammograms, poking, prodding, etc from the last two weeks) on day two of my menstrual cycle, she thought it *could* have been a cyst that went away on it's own, or hormone related, combined with stress and everything else. I have an appt for a complete physical with her next week.
So I'm going to set this worry aside for now, and hopefully the u/s will back up what the Dr. has told me. She said she would make me a copy of the radiologist's report which I can pick up next time I'm in. But reading that and having her weigh in with her opinion, combined with the fact that this asymmetry didn't just spring up since last year's mammo but has been present all along, is making me feel much much better.
Thanks for your support, I'll be sure to let you know how the u/s goes,
Kim
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Awesome! I knew everything was going to be OK!! Now you can relax and enjoy your kids and family!!!
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Thanks 51villagerd. I will keep positive thoughts and prayers for you for Monday. I hope your visit with the breast specialist will ease your mind. I know I'm still not totally out of the wood until I get the u/s, but I definitely do feel better that it will have a good outcome. I'll be looking for your update on Monday.
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