Couldn’t find lump on ultrasound
Hello all,
I am 38 years old. I went for a mammogram about 10 days ago (due to pain in right side). The mammogram detected a 2.3 cm mass on the left side that the doctor wanted confirmed as cystic or solid.
I went to my ultrasound today and the tech took some pictures but then said she couldn't find anything of that large of size. She said she was going to go and look at my mammogram. When she came back she said I was good to go.
It will be a couple of days before the doctor has a report so I am not sure if they found anything
Could it have been a cyst that disappeared?
But now I am really worried because while she was gone I took a picture of her screen where she had the ultrasound pictures and now I am beside myself diagnosingthe worst case scenario looking at them. I should be relieved that she couldn't find the mass but am sick with worry 
Comments
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Hi littlefeather, We welcome you warmly to our community
. It sounds like you've been through a lot in the last few weeks to cause you worry. This may be a good situation where you want to get a second opinion, or request an MRI due the discrepancy of findings. Perhaps a good place to start is to contact your doctor to discuss. We're here for you!! 0 -
Littlefeather I would also echo the suggestion to have a conversation with your doctor (whether GYN or Breast doctor). Were you given any indication on your breast density? Very dense breasts can be more difficult to image, leading to just these types of situations. Your doctor may want to follow up image again in 6 months, or they may suggest MRI depending on your risk profile.
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I would agree. If you have any breast cancer in your family you’d probably qualify for a mri. If you can qualify to have one, they rarely miss anything cancer wise, I think. Just remember to advocate for yourself. So important. Sometimes we have to push for what will help out our minds at ease. If your worried, push for a mri. We are here for support! Keep us updated when you have time.
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littlefeather:
I would ask your doctor why the technician said you were "good to go." If there is something on the mammogram that is not showing on the ultrasound then I would request an MRI. My cancer was missed on both mammogram and ultrasound though it was palpable.
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I completely agree with wc3. I would push for a mri. Just to make sure all is ok.
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Hi there, I would also ask them what that means exactly. I just had my first mammo and that lead to a diagnostic one which then led to an ultrasound. The area in question on the left side was found on the u/s and needs a biopsy but the area on the right side is seen on mammo but they could not find it on the u/s, so they are also doing a biopsy there guided by the mammogram machine (stereotactic biopsy). I would def ask what exactly good to go means too!
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I think "good to go" means all pictures are done, patient can leave, it does not mean no disease found. I found different countries have different ways, some women said oncologist talks to them, but in my country, they never talked to us.
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Wc3-
What was your next step after your palpable lump didn't show on the mammo or ultrasound? This is where I'm currently at. My husband and I can feel a mass...but it is up too high for the mammo to see it. And nothing showed on the ultrasound. So the radiologist and my pcp told me I'm good to go for another year. Thought they gave me no answers to the palpable lump.
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If in doubt, your body, get another opinion. I am at a cancer center, and i had just had a mammogram on my remaining best. The other was removed in Feb of this year. I need an ultrasound now, as the person reading the mammogram thought there could be something. BIRADS 0. So, Friday morning and ultrasound. I think this is good, as i was to get that breast removed May 31st, but got a blood clot on April 8th or so and must wait. This way i will know if i have more targeted therapy before the removal of my breast in likely early August. I have Brca2. HER2 positive. Aggressive.
I would certainly show them the lump you feel. Have them test to find out what it is. An MRI is good. I agree with that. Do you have a breast cancer surgeon? Someone that does this daily.
You stand up for you.
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I completely agree with what katg saidmy cancer was not seen on a mammo. I felt a lump. Ultrasound caught it. But if it wasn't seen on either mammo or ultrasound, I'd demand a MRI. There are people in this forum that have had mammos miss cancer. Also others where ultrasound didn't see their cancer. It is rare for MRI to miss cancer. So if I were in your shoes I'd request a MRI. Tell them your not comfortable with the answers you've gotten and want a MRI to double check. If the primary dr says no you can always find another primary dr. We are here for support. Have a wonderful week
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scc110907:
The radiologist told me it was normal breast tissue and though I am typically one to question, I didn't that time, but what I should have done was request a biopsy or MRI...in my case, probably a biopsy would have been best because the lump was close to the surface and would have been easy to access.
Instead I went on my way and started birth control pills for bleeding issues, but thankfully I was only on them for about two or three months before a pharmacist recommended I switch to natural progesterone cream because the estrogen in the pill was counter productive to stopping bleeding. I can never know for sure, but that switch may very well have saved my life, because my cancer was highly estrogen receptor positive and estrogen receptor activation has a proliferative effect in breast cancer. Progesterone and breast cancer have a more complicated relationship and in some instances it helps and in others it hurts.
I was finally diagnosed nearly two years later. I had looked down in the shower one day and noticed a contour in my breasts that I hadn't recall previously being there. I forgot about it for a few weeks and my memory was then jogged by some disturbing photos of cancer the internet sent my way so I called and made an appointment to be re-examined.
I almost didn't go. It was an early morning appointment and I woke up tired having gone to bed late, and still thinking it was normal breast tissue and I was being a hypochondriac, but I figured I already had the appointment, it took a week or two to get, and I knew I would start worrying on a Friday evening when nothing could be done about it if I didn't go, so I jumped out of bed at literally the last minute and just barely caught the last bus that could get me there.
By that time, the lump had grown from 0.4cm when I initially found it, to about 2.5cm and was unmistakably cancer on the ultrasound. And not just any cancer but aggressive HER2 positive cancer. I started neoadjuvent chemotherapy about a month after the second mammogram and ultrasound, by which time it had grown to about 3cm.
Thankfully it responded extremely well to treatment and I currently have no evidence of disease.
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