ABUS recall and panicked (again)
I'm back again and hoping I can get some support again this go around from all of you wonderful ladies!! I am a 40F and I posted in here last year when I had my first ever Mammogram a couple months before I was to get married. They found a mass that required repeat testing and eventually a core biopsy. I ended up with 4 mammos, 3 HHUS and one biopsy. After being ignored by my doctors office for weeks when they had results sitting on the doctors desk without a call it ended up as a fibroadenoma, thankfully! But it still didn't cause me any less anxiety and honestly I think PTSD a year later when I went for my second annual mammogram last week. My heart rate on my Garmin watch was up to 130 bpm while sitting in the waiting area to be called back. This time I went to a different doctor and referred by her to a different breast center an hour away. They did a 3D mammogram this time as well as an ABUS (whole breast automated ultrasound). I got a call the same day that said my mammo was negative, great news and I was so happy they called back same day vs days of waiting with my anxiety. I figured if that was good the ultrasound had to be as well as last time it was the mammo being positive that started the whole ordeal. I was wrong. A few days later I got a call that my ABUS found a 6mm hypo echoic mass, same size and description as last yearas well as same breast but different location this time.
Commence freak out again.
I know that preventative care is ideal but this is really making me not want to go for my yearly screenings anymore. Plus it's making me upset I had the ABUS added instead of just the mammo. I have category 2 fibro glandular breast tissue which I was told wasn't too dense and usually doesn't warrant ABUS. Yes I know that catching it early if it is the dreaded C word is great! But I still don't like being in this position…again. Just being honest about my feelings on it all.
Has anyone in here had a negative mammo and a positive ABUS?? Or just a positive ABUS? I know next to nothing about the ABUS as it's a newer technology. I'm not sure if it's the same type of thing where they tell you with your first ever mammo that you have a higher chance of recall as it's the first one ever? Is the ABUS the same? Is it know for errors due to artifacts or shadowing or technician error? Or even me if I breathed wrong or was laying weird? I can't seem to find much about it online except it's usually used AFTER a mammo comes back positive not as a screening tool. Or in someone which extremely dense breasts
I'm trying to not panic but my previous experience has really tarnished my mind in regards to this now. Plus they called me Friday with the news so I've been having a not so great Mother's Day weekend.
Any advice, experiences and or support is most welcome!!
Thank you!
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It is not rare, it is lucky that ultrasound caught it. My diagnostic mammogram back clear, a great news but just a few minutes, then ultrasound sent me directly to biopsy. Mine is 5mm nodule, I am waiting for biopsy result, fingers crossed, however either way, it is lucky and under control at this moment.
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Thank you for your reply Cathy67!
I will keep you in my thoughts for goodbiopsy news!
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I haven't had an ABUS, but I just returned from a biopsy appointment for exactly the same type of mass originally described as a "6mm hypoechoic round to oval mass with patrially circumscribed and partially "indistinct margins" and was given a BIRADS 4. I completely freaked out; they were able to get me in for a biopsy within a few days. A different doctor did the ultrasound today before my biopsy and on my report it was clear she recognized it was a cyst during today's ultrasound ("the most recent ultrasound shows a "0.6 cm oval circumscribed anechoic mass"). They aspirated it and sent me on my way. I hope you get the same great news...having access to my own chart via the Patient Gateway is a blessing and a curse. I love feeling informed, but it comes with such anxiety.
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How painful is ABUS imaging?
I did the breast ultrasound screening a few days ago.
The breast ultrasound screening was extremely painful, much more painful than mammo.
In the breast ultrasound screening, I felt that the compression was too much. And I felt so painful that I had to make a tight fist and make a sound. I told the lady I felt very very painful and asked whether she could lift up the machine a little bit so there would not be so much compression. She seemed not to do so, as for 6 scans, I felt the same extent of pain.I found some articles talking about possible bad impact of the compression from diagnostic imaging methods.
Reference:
Growing concern following compression mammography
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5015182/0 -
Hi! I came across this thread as I was looking for similar experiences. I had a negative mammo a couple weeks ago but because I have an heterogeneous dense breast, they recommended me to do ABUS, which is now available in our area. Since it is an additional screening so I did. The ABUS results came back and says there is a 6 mm irregular hypoechoic possible mass with surrounding hyperechogenicity. Now they are wanting me to do an additional imaging - HHUS. I am a little anxious. I am hoping that this is just another false reading.
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Welcome, @shein_beah, we're so sorry you find yourself here with this worry! We're glad they suggested additional screening, but we completely understand your anxiety over the result not being what was expected based on your first mammo - hopefully the ultrasound gives some definitive answers. Please do keep us posted on how it goes, we'll be thinking of you!
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