I don't have cancer!

I was just sure I had breast cancer. I had a lump that almost doubled in size since May. I've been too busy at work to take time off. I didn't worry at first because I always get fibroid cysts. But when it is the size of a golf ball and just as hard as a golf ball, I knew it was cancer. So did the doc. But amazingly, the mamogram and ultrasound did not confirm that! Thank God! I'm going to the surgeon tomorrow to have it aspirated. Whew! The moral of this story is let's put nothing in front of taking good care of ourselves. Without our health, we won't be there for all the people who depend upon us. I feel like celebrating today! I didn't realize how much stress I felt until it was over.

YAY! I am SO happy for you! You must have been just terrified! I do hope you celebrate in high style today! Tomorrow is my mamogram and I make sure to get one each year in honor of my grandma who passed away from breast cancer. It's never fun-and always stressful-but is the RIGHT THING to do!!! Hugs!! Therese

I was surprised to find out that my last mamogram was in 2005. I'm going to keep better track of them from now on! I'm sorry about your grandma but I think it's so sweet that you get your mamo in her honor. What a great sentiment.

I go back at the end of August for a six month recheck....there is some suspicion but of course the tech said with the weight loss it makes it even harder to tell. Of course now there is not much but excess skin left! I'm a nervous wreck about it though and thought we shouldn't wait, but that is what they said is the best...

I am the coordinator of a large breast center near Chicago. We do about 16,000 mammograms a year. About 10 percent of patients get called back for additional views and/or ultrasound of the breast. The vast majority turn out to be nothing. Sometimes, if things are not clearly benign, patients are asked to return in 6 months or to have a core biopsy performed. Sometimes the 6 month time frame is just too nerve wracking for patients, so it is perfectly acceptable to do a stereotactic biopsy or an ultrasound guided biopsy to get an answer with tissue samples. This requires you to have a needle inserted in your breast under local anesthesia, usually performed by the radiologist in the breast center or mammography center. You don't even have stitches, and in 24 hours, we have the results for a patient that can ease her fears, or in some cases, place her into proper treatment. I guess the point of my story is that waiting six months is acceptable, but for some patients it is not due to anxiety. You are only a month away now from going back, so there would be no need to do this now, but it is something for other's to kwow about. When we loose a lot of weight, the first thing to go is the girls, so we see lots of changes on the mammogram, and loose the advantage of comparing to old films. Once we stabalize weight wise, it becomes easier. Good Luck with everything, hope you get the same good news as Wanda! Sandy

Sandy, do you know if my cyst turns out to be a fatty cyst that can't be aspirated can it be removed when I have my breast lift in December? Thanks for the info.

Sandy, Evidently this is an ongoing issue I found out about during my last exam. I have had this area (deep inside) since last visit (which was Oct 05) and then again detected larger in Feb 07 (I am going yearly or the best I can with our other surgery) at this point they said to me that there was a potential for a problem that they had first detected in Oct 05...so I was shocked then that they wanted me to wait the six months, of course so much has been going on in our lives that it has virtually flew by, but still! I am hoping that all is clear we shall wait and see. thanks Sandy for your input

I was thinking that the weight loss just made the normal cysts more palpable and that's why I wasn't concerned at first. Then after it grew so quickly and got so hard I was just sure it was cancer. I wasn't freaking out about it. I was prepared to trade my old breasts in for a new set. Then I thought---what if it has already spread to other areas? That's when I got scared. I hope your re-check turns out ok. Did they do an ultrasound on you? I work in health care but my degree is in business and I work in the administration side so I'm like you--I just trust the clinicians to know best.

AMEN!!!!!! WONDERFUL new Wanda sending (((hugs)))

Thank you Britt!