Biopsy or not
Supposed to schedule one. But worried about it making it spread. They are concerned it could be cancerous. But my lymph nodes look fine. Why not just take it out then send it off for testing? Also my breasts are also very dense.
Should I look for a doc to just take it out? Or is that too risky wait? The doc I visited just said that just not how/we do it. The spot is thought to be 2mm 2mm to 9mm.
Also no history of BC in my family.
Any advice welcomed. Thanks!
Comments
-
@Wondering3 welcome to our community.
There are so many benign breast conditions , but the doctor won't know until a biopsy, unfortunately.
Here is some additional information on biopsies (e.g. types, preparation, recovery), in case it could be helpful:
Also, from the Susan G. Kamen site:
"Breast biopsies don’t cause cancer to spread. Surgical and needle biopsies don’t cause breast cancer to spread [2-4]. Exposing breast cancer to air during surgery or cutting through the cancer doesn’t cause it to spread [2-4].
Updated 12/20/22"
Hope this is helpful, and let us know how you are and if we can help.
Warmly, The Mods
0 -
Hi @Wondering3 , As the mods said biopsies don't cause cancer to spread but are necessary to find out if the area has abnormalities. Even though your affected area is small a needle biopsy gives enough information about what is there. It heals up very well so in a few weeks there won't be any change to the appearance of your breast. An excisional biopsy involves taking more tissue and can result in a breast that cosmetically may look a bit different. While we all accept this for something which must be removed for our health there is no reason to risk it if it's not necessary. I hope your biopsy is benign.
0 -
Thank you! I see, I thought whether benign or not they would want to remove it. It's scheduled for the 7th. Does that seem like a long time to wait if they are concerned it's cancerous? Even if my lymph nodes look good? Also they didn't do any blood work.
1 -
The 7th is not too far away in the breast cancer world. Since cancer grows relatively slowly it’s not an emergency. Bloodwork is not usually done. It’s not a very complicated process. You might have some bruising afterward but ice packs in your bra help. You then have to wait for the pathology results (I know, more waiting!) There are a few benign conditions which could become cancerous where the affected cells will be removed but otherwise they are not. I hope your biopsy goes well.
0 -
No, not a long time to wait at all. Though it needs to be taken care of, breast cancer is not considered an emergency and is generally very slow growing. Researchers believe that most breast cancers have been growing in a body for many years before they’re big enough to be detected. As Maggie mentioned, excisional biopsies, essentially a lumpectomy, are more invasive. Doctors choose procedures that are less invasive when possible and that’s good for the patient. Waiting is no fun but it won’t impact your health. Take care
0 -
Thank you all for the quick responses. Is this your history underneath the line seperator?
0 -
Yes, the diagnosis history helps people give relevant responses to questions. Breast cancer has different types (DCIS, IDC, ILC and other less common varieties,) hormone receptors which can be positive or negative, grades which show how different from normal the cells are, and stages dependent on tumor sizes and spread to lymph nodes or beyond. This means that there are many different types of treatments. Most of us learn about this as we go through the diagnosis process.
0 -
I could see how that can be helpful. Is there a cheat sheet to what that all means?
1 -
Go to breastcancer.org (information rather than discussion forum) and click on the section that says Newly Diagnosed. I’d bookmark it for you but I’m away from my computer and my phone is not cooperating. There is a great deal of reliable information there. It might be something you never need to deal with but I’m a planner and was happy to learn even though I didn’t know if it would apply to me.
0
