Cancerhead - Abnormal Mammogram

Cancerhead is becoming louder inside my head once again. Recently, I had my first 3 month follow-up exam for endo cancer. I don't have the pap smear results yet, but my gynecologist said everything else checked out ok. I was feeling good about everything when I went in for the mammogram my doc ordered. That was a week before Christmas. The day after Christmas I got a call asking me to come back for more views of some areas of concern. I was then sent over to ultrasound for more pictures. It seems I have 2 solid masses in my right breast. The radiologist thinks they are probably benign, but we won't know for sure unless an ultrasound- guided biopsy is performed on each mass. Now I'm waiting for a call from my doctor to set up an appointment for the biopsies. I'm sure it won't be scheduled until after the New Year holiday now, so I'm back to the waiting game. That's when cancerhead comes calling. I'm trying to stay positive, but I can't stop thinking about cancer. I thought I was over the stage when that's all I thought about 24/7. I was actually beginning to feel like my old self. I was told by a doctor at my post-op exam that having had endometrial cancer does not put me at higher risk for breast cancer. Does anyone know if that is true? I'm having doubts. My family is very suppportive, but no one understands these feelings I'm having the way all of you do. I just had to vent. Thanks for listening!

catth, I don't know about BrCa related to endo cancer. I never had a gyn cancer, but did have DCIS / very early BrCa. I have had five biopsies to date. No. 3 resulted in DCIS. Going into biopsy no. 4, the radiologist felt quite certain it was benign. She thought it was probably a fibroadenoma. Had to do the biopsy (ultrasound guided core needle) to know for sure. That's what it confirmed.

So if your radiologist believes it's benign, I think you can relax about it. Yes, it could be the "C", but there is probably an even better than 80% chance for you that it istn't.

Enjoy your New Year's Eve and day.

Mary D.

dear catth...poor you and all you can do now is wait. know that you're not alone with the cancerhead. i've just discovered a raised spot on my arm that isn't going away...could be another melanoma...i had one removed from my neck (it looked like the tiniest mole) a couple of months before my ovca diagnosis, so now i'm worried too! that's wonderful news that your endo followup was clear.

let's hope our lumps are benign and we can have a happy, cancer-free new year and many more to enjoy. best wishes to you.

Catth, Sorry that you're going through this after just going through the endo cancer...I have been going through something similar. Before I got my endo cancer dx I had a mammo that needed more views and an ultrasound. The radiologist saw a complex cyst which she felt should be aspirated. Then all the endo cancer stuff started and I had my hysterectomy on 11/26. Needless to say, the aspiration got put on the back burner. After my hystectomy, my path reports came back great and I felt such relief about everything, but the breast issue was weighing on me. Even with the good news I got I kept thinking "if it's not in my uterus then it must be in my breast." Two weeks after my surgery I had my mammos reviewed by another breast center and had my aspiration. The doctor there who aspirated the cyst felt it was nothing, but I won't get the path reports on that until 1/10.
So, at this point I'm trying not to let it all make me crazy. I'm starting to realize that no matter what goes on with us we'll always feel that terrible "cancerhead."
Just hang in there....you got a great follow-up report, so celebrate that and don't let the breast biopsies ruin your New Year's.
We shall all get through this together!

(((catth)))

Yep, cancerhead totally stinks! As the other ladies have said, try not to let it consume you, especially during the holidays. Try to focus on the fact that your other exams were good which is GREAT!

Our dear friend Ellen always says, "Never waste a good panic."

Hang in there, sweetie!!

s
monami

s Catth,

Oh, Bother! (as my favorite silly old Bear would say) If it's not one thing, it's another, isnt' it? I'm so sorry that you have this worry...especially at this time of year, especially when you were just starting to get "IT" back together again.

I hope you get a biopsy appointment soon. The waiting game is the pits!
Do you know that there is a breast health forum right here on Hystersisters?
Check it out! http://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/forumdisplay.php?f=224

Good luck, and please keep us posted.

s
k9

Here's to the hoping with you! First off, congrats about a good lower-half followup appointment so far! Important to not loose focus on the good/positive stuff. It doesn't go away, and you can always carry the good stuff with you! Cancerhead is the pitts! But keep in "mind" that's the nature of cancerhead, and most of the time it's not what's going on in reality. Just the same, early detection is the key and whatever is going on at the very least you are ahead of the game. You're on it, like ".......@#&!" (...Fill in the blank metaphor.) I can sort of relate to the waiting game. Had my mammo in October and I have a small nodule between my breast and armpit. They are thinking it is a lymph node and told me to wait 6 months to get it rechecked. I went back last month, waving my red flags, and they still think I should just wait. AARRGGHH! Last year I was called back right away about the other side with fibroadenomas.... around the nipple. The second look called it benign and just to watch it over the years. Yes, the wait is the hardest part, but being on top of it rather than putting it off is a way of kicking cancerhead's butt, making him move out of the way, if ya know what I mean. Yeah, don't waste a good panic... you can use that energy to do something about it... I'll shut up now!

Best to you! -Terri

Thanks for the encouragement! My best to all of you who are also playing the waiting game and can totally relate to cancerhead. I plan to ask my gynecologist and the radiologist about possible increased risk for breast cancer after endometrial cancer. Everything I've read about breast lumps so far indicate an 80% chance of them being benign, so I am keeping my focus on that.

k9, thanks for the link to the breast health forum. I didn't even realize it existed since I generally spend my time in this forum. It has been helpful to me already just reading through some of the posts.

I'll keep you posted on the results of this next little adventure in biopsy-land. Happy New Year everyone! You're right; we can all get through this together!

Hi Catth - I did a little research to see if having endo cancer makes you more at risk for breast cancer, and it was not listed as a risk factor. If you google "breast cancer risk factors," you'll be able to find a lot of info.

Yep - we all understand cancerhead and how unwelcome it is but how it just knocks on our doors anyway!

You take care and may the time go quickly until you get some results.

(I had breast lumps, which turned out to be benign; following the doctor's advice, I stopped drinking coffee from sunrise to sunset, and I've not had a lump since!)

s!!!

(((catth))) Sorry you're having this scare on top of all you've already been through. As the others have said, having had endometrial cancer itself doesn't increase your risk of breast cancer. However, the two types of cancers have common risk factors, so it is true that women who have had endometrial cancer may also be at risk for breast cancer just because they share so many common risk factors, even though one doesn't lead to the other. More common is the increased risk of endometrial cancer in women who have had breast cancer and gone on Tamoxifen... that one is causative.

Keep focusing on that 80%... it is true that about 80% of biopsies come back benign. Also, most breast cancers that are estrogen-mediated (hence sharing risk factors with endometrial cancer) do not typically cause palpable lumps, but are detectable as microcalcification clusters in mammograms. "Solid masses" are more typically fibroadenomas (benign fatty tumors). I'll keep my that that's what yours are.

We'd love to have you over in the Breast Health forum if you have any questions about the biopsy procedure or your pathology results, or any other breast health concerns.

s,
-Linda