Advice regarding possible diagnosis of breast cancer ...

Morning    

Sorry to see you joining us here, but it's a great place to be when all the 'what if's' come out to play :-/

I wouldn't read too much into all the details the nurse took or the fact you had a marker clip put in place; a lot of this is fairly standard stuff and as they were already in the area the clip was placed now rather than going though it again later if one was needed.

Atypical (abnormal) cells, micro calcifications and cysts can obscure or also contain DCIS or LCIS cells which are the earliest forms of breast cancer. The LC is lobular and the DC is ductal - IS means in situ; so contained.

These cells were suspicious enough to warrant further investigation, which is far better than being fobbed off and sent home with a 3 month review  However if your fears are confirmed this must be at a fairly early stage as anything larger would be far more obvious.

Everyone goes through the 'doing my head in' phase. Waiting results is despised with a passion, some would say even more emotional than the treatment. As once you find out what the heck is going on and get a treatment plan it actually gives you something to focus on.

One piece of advise everyone here mentions is please don't google stuff - most of the info out there is either outdated or worryingly misleading. Stick with sites like Macmillan, BreastCancerNow and Cancer Research UK (CRUK) if you must feed your desire for info 

Hope this is of some help for now, if any questions pop into your head or if you just fancy a chat, fire away - we're all here to help if we can.

Fingers tightly crossed for those results, G n' J

Morning

Im a newbie too ! Joined a couple of weeks ago.

Had a small lump i couldnt always feel but glad i got it checked !

Im having a lumpectomy on wednesday and this group has kept me sane !

When i had the biopsy i was told not to google ..

Ive never done as i was told !

I soon realised that google isnt my friend lol.

Everyone on here is so helpful, like having loads of sisters without the bickering !

Ive been pretty positive so far , although im a bit nervous today. Whatever your outcome , and i hope its a good one , you are in the right group x

Hi ,

Thanks for the reply, that’s great news that everything so far has been standard procedure. 

I totally missed out that my second biopsy was just before Covid-19 and lockdown. The wait has been excruciating.

I have continued to work as I work in social care so keeping busy seems to have done a good job I feel like it’s finally almost over and I’m falling at the last hurdle not knowing how to get through 2 weeks when in essence I just got through 3 months of waiting. Quite silly really.

Well a few more sleepless nights and fingers crossed the wait will be over one way or another!

Take care and thank you x

Morning ,

Sorry to hear your going through a tough time. Thanks for your response.

Stay positive xxxx

I agree with what everyone has said. Until you get results you do not know. I had fibroadenoma in right breast. Indeterminate micro calcification in left which turned out to be LCIS within that they found a small lobular breast cancer.  That has now been dealt with and I am back living my life.  I hope you get good results it is a very worrying time. But this online community are so supportive, if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to message me xxxx

Hi Roses123,

Thank you for taking the time to respond, I’m so pleased that you got over this hurdle and are back living your life.

Do you mind me asking how long treatments are for this sort of thing? I know I shouldn’t be jumping ahead but my anxieties don’t allow my brain to not do so ‍♀️

Is LCIS an invasive cancer, the Macmillan lady did say they were looking at a non invasive cancer. What tests did you have?

Please don’t answer if that’s too intrusive. I haven’t told my parents or my children, 18 and 12. I think one of my biggest fears is how I will cope with working full time and raising the children and any treatments. I’m hoping to get away with not telling them unless I really have to. I.e it turns out to be cancer and any treatments are too difficult to hide from them.

thank you x

  In June 2015 at age of 51 I was recalled from my first routine screening due to breast calcifications in two areas.

I was told they were 99% certain they were harmless as small areas - 10mm and 5 mm both in left breast.  I had multiple samples from both areas but no clip inserted.  The radiographer did call doctor in to ask if she wanted clip inserted while she was doing the biopsy but she said no.  The doctor seemed confident it was all benign.

A week later I had the results and I had DCIS in the 10mm area but the 5mm was benign.

In July 2015 I then had a WLE (lumpectomy) to remove both areas - I asked for both to be removed for peace of mind.  Surgery biopsy revealed 11mm highgrade DCIS with clear margins.  I recovered quickly from surgery.

Then September 2015 I had 15 sessions of radiotherapy over 3 weeks.  This is a very quick, painless process the only issue can be skin breaking down (like severe sunburn).

I did not require any hormone medication.

I have annual mammograms, this year will be my year 5 one but is delayed due to current situation.

At my year 3 mammogram they indentified an area of concern in my good breast - I had results on day.  They asked me if I had knocked or bruised it but I couldn't recall as I'm a G cup so my boobs get in the way a lot.  They did a biopsy and said they would ring me 4 days later with result.  They didn't ring so eventually late that afternoon (it was a friday) I plucked up courage to ring. They told me biopsy was benign but they wanted to double check by re doing mamagram so two weeks later I was back.  The area of concern was no longer there so they decided it had been a bruise. And breathe!

Welcome to the site  

My story is on profile just click on my name if you want to read it . 

You arrived at the right place for advice and support from people who get where you’re comming from . It’s worth repeating that the waiting is the worst time and possibly because of covid you have been waiting a while . 

I know you’ve already learned this but distraction is the name of the game whilst waiting . Harder at the minute because of covid but try to plan a treat or two ..... film night get some  popcorn innd sweets plus ice cream of course . Or a walk with picnic whatever distracts you . After my op and before chemo my cupboards were in shock never been so tidy lol including under the stairs

have a look at the different threads on here and jump in if something interests you . Read other people’s stories . Never ever worry about coming on here .. no such thing as silly question except thone you don’t ask ! This is the place where you can shout , rant , cry and even have a laugh just look at the awake thread

take care 

Margaret x

Hi Grogg

Oh wow 5 years! That’s amazing

From what I hear they place the clip as standard now, probably to prevent cases such as yours! Originally I thought the clip was a sign, but have come to realise otherwise!

i can’t imagine having to go through this process twice, that must have been hellish

Yes my wait has been long and excruciating at time’s, sounds silly when everything still could be ok.

This all started for me back in February, Covid has a lot to answer for. I was told I would be seen mid July so one good thing is that at least they got me in 6 weeks earlier than originally thought. It’s been about a 3 month wait in all. I’ve been ok the most of it. I think the latest visit just tipped me over the neurotic edge a bit. So close but yet so far if that makes sense.

I don’t know the size of the area, I think it’s only one area. This isn’t something that has been discussed the only thing I know is that it’s 40mm from the base of the nipple. I am presuming this means it’s placement and not it’s size but who knows. 

I should have really asked but because of the 3 month wait I was worried things might have changed in that time.

I have updated my profile as suggested and will take a look at yours, thank you for your reply, 10 more sleeps to get through 

Hi Northerner,

Yes the wait has been horrendous, 3 months from last biopsy to this one. It is better than planned though, mid July.

Distraction seems to be more difficult as the days go by. I’ve tried sitting down to watch films etc but my mind is so busy I just can’t get in to anything! I am back to work tomorrow so hopefully the rest of the week won’t drag too much. I work in social care so it’s pretty full on at the moment.

Thank you for all your kind words and suggestions. This is something I haven’t discussed with my family yet as I didn’t want to worry any of them so just being able to talk freely, negatively and positively is sooo nice!

i will take a look at your profile and at the thread that you suggested 

Thank you ️