Do mammograms always detect cancer ?

I'm in Somerset. My referral was 2 weeks. At that appointment they did ultra sound and mammogram and biopsy. 10 days later I went for results and had a mag seed and dye inserted. 3 weeks ago I had wide incision lumpectomy. Next Tuesday I have an oncology app. I'm to have 5 days radio and letrozole tablets. Hopefully you are being told worse case scenario timewise. The breast care team and surgeon were all very lovely. Hopefully once your appointment comes through and you speak to them you'll be able to get some peace of mind.

As others have said, I would go to your GP and get booked into the Breast Cancer Clinic. I found a lump and when I went to the clinic, they didn't find anything on mammogram as breasts were too dense, but they did find the lump on ultrasound and did biopsies.

They usually give you an idea f what they are thinking on the day too. I was told mine was likely cancer - they can see a lot from the ultrasound.

Hi @Eve1064 It must be really frustrating that you have potentially an 8 week wait now to get an ultrasound. On the one hand it is reassuring that the GP is not concerned, on the other hand, the ultrasound would tell you for sure that everything is OK and then you can put it out of your mind. As you say, it is best to go with your instinct and if these symptoms are not 'your normal' then I would keep pushing for an ultrasound and not be worried about pestering GP's or the breast clinic. I hope you have some luck with that. Keep us posted and sending my best wishes to you. xx

Hi ,what I cannot understand is the lumps I can clearly feel ,how can a gp decide if they shouldn’t be checked when it’s new for me .When she said she felt they weren’t aysymetrical and said said she could move them .I cannot feel them moving .Are malignant tumours impossible to move and fixed to the chest and sides as I am really overweight and have large breasts so every part of me moves and jiggly and why were they not seen in the mammogram .I am in Aberdeenshire and she said the symptomatic breast 2 week referral is now 8 weeks and the fact I have had a mammogram (first routine one) and she checked me over that they might not even want to see me and fact an orthopaedic consultant requested the armpit lump was checked over at the clinic and was happy with a doc checking it over and just thinking it was a cyst ,is what worries me more that I won’t be checked again and taken seriously .It would help if trying to access gp s wasn’t so difficult up here just now and that the nhs wasn’t so overwhelmed .For the past year I’ve felt so tired ,no energy ,had shoulder pain and now my right shoulder blade is painful and itchy along with these hard lumps in my right breast ,so I know I sound like I’m maybe over thinking and it’s not menopause as my hrt has been fine and helped but has it contributed to the lumps and if they are benign I would rather they were properly tested so I know this because I know I never had hard lumps in my right breast all these years .xx

Hi Eve1064,

I would push for a further review by the hospital. I had a routine mammogram in 2018 where they found a lump and re called me for ultrasound but did not do a biopsy. At routine mammo in 2021 the same lump had grown. The biopsy results confirmed cancer although the consultant basically implied without saying when she did the biopsy that it was cancer. She couldn't believe I hadn't had a biopsy three years before. Lumps can be all sorts of things but you do need to put your mind at rest and not worry for the next three years until your further mammo.

Sorry, don't mean to scare you by my story as I am sure the lumps are nothing to be worried about but you need to feel confident in the information they have given you.

Hi Eve1064

I have a friend who since the menopause has had many breast lumps which turned out to be cysts. She has now been told that she is prone to them and when they appear to monitor them for changes. In the past she has had them aspirated but now she has been told to monitor them. I thought I would share this as hopefully whilst you are pushing for an ultrasound, it might help to know that there is always hope that they might be cysts. I wish you the best of luck and hope you get an ultrasound to give you peace of mind ️

Thank you and I agree it could be down to being post menopausal and my hrt has caused cysts or something .They aren’t painful at all and it’s just new for me and my aunt had a lump which two mammograms didn’t show and it took two years for finally an mri I think she said to find it and she was diagnosed and had a double mastectomy and treatment .This was 40 years ago and thankfully to the nhs she’s still here to tell the take and is 90 next year ,so she is telling me to keep making sure it’s checked out .I really support the knowledge,advice and support here as I’m trying to avoid safari surfing

Yes thank you I know it’s right I’m pushing to be checked and fingers crossed the breast clinic will see me and put my mind at rest whatever the outcome .I have a disabled daughter that needs me and know that I need to be around as long as possible for her and know that earlier the treatment the better

Hi Eve, I’m sorry to hear about your situation and that you are still feeling worried. It seems that neither the mammogram nor the GP appointment have put your mind at rest or given you an explanation that you are entirely satisfied with. 
The medics have said your symptoms could be linked with harmless changes so of course this could very well be the case. I don’t want to worry you but I also know from my experience that some cancers don’t show up on mammogram. In my case I went to the GP after finding a lump and was seen by two GPs that day who both thought the lump was a benign fibroadenoma. They sent me off to the breast clinic anyway, where I had mammograms that detected nothing. The radiographer at the breast clinic found the lump on ultrasound and did a biopsy which later confirmed it was a cancer. I was then sent for an MRI scan which showed another suspicious area. A biopsy on that later showed it was a cancer too.

I think this experience is pretty unusual, the mammogram screening programme has been around for years and is effective at detecting worrying changes in most cases for most people - if it wasn’t, they wouldn’t do it. I don’t know if it is relevant, but like others who have commented here, I have also been told I have dense breasts. Maybe that’s a factor, I don’t know - I’m not a medical person or qualified to say. All I would say to anyone who is worried or unsure about the explanation given is do go back and ask to be seen again. No doctor would mind seeing you if you are still worried I’m sure. They may be able to offer you a further explanation and reassurance, or alternatively refer you for further tests if needed. 

I wish you well and hope you get the support you need.
Take care, Rosie xx