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finding a lump in your breast

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Vikingwoman
bigdog
Joanimaroni
RealLindaL
2seaoat
9 posters

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1finding a lump in your breast Empty finding a lump in your breast 8/30/2018, 10:32 pm

2seaoat



We have a very good friend who has discovered a new lump in her breast. She immediately had the doctor tell her that she was going to do all these procedures. She said NO. I will have the biopsy, and we will go from there. I am so proud of her because she controls her own medical path. However, what was really galling is the doctor told her in my country when a doctor recommends a certain treatment, it is followed because the government wants compliance with doctor's wishes. I thought this was my wife getting what the doc said wrong, but no......he said it and it shows an arrogance that patients are unequal.

As Trump sinks us to third world standards, maybe the day will come when government dictates, but until that time I told my wife to tell her to go downtown.

RealLindaL



What country was the doc from?

Joanimaroni

Joanimaroni

Are you forgetting insurance companies dictate protocol to follow. When working for a surgeon, insurance companies would not pay for procedures unless you followed there guidelines.

2seaoat



The doctor was from India, and it was not a matter of the insurance, rather the sequence. I learned a long time ago. Question every procedure and assumption a doctor makes. We left a message for her yesterday, but she was at her uncle's funeral. We hope to find out how she is doing later today.

Joanimaroni

Joanimaroni

So she was not filing insurance... and paying out of pocket?

bigdog



I can't understand why your friend feels the necessity to begin with a biopsy. There are so many less invasive procedures that can be done to rule out cancer in the breast. Most insurance companies prefer to do those procedures before putting a patient through a needle biopsy, which can be very painful. Even with a biopsy a malignancy can be missed sometimes. I think she should follow her doctors orders ,and first and foremost, try not to panic. Most lumps are not cancerous, only a small percentage are.

I doubt her doctor meant what she said in the way it came out, but if she doesn't like her doctor, she should get another one. I doubt very many will do a needle biopsy before using other procedures to find out what they are looking at though. Doctors, on the whole, don't like patients telling them how to do their jobs.

Vikingwoman



The only way to truly find out if it's cancer is a biopsy. I've had two lumps one which was a blocked milk duct and taken out in the surgeon's office and the second a needle aspiration. They did a mammogram twice and then mixed up my results w/ someone else's before I caught it. The needle aspiration missed the spot and hit a blood vessel which turned my breast black. I wound up having to have a biopsy anyway. I would go right to the biopsy and forget all that other crap if I had to do it again. Weeks and weeks of uncertainty waiting for these results. The biopsy was the easiest.

knothead

knothead

Angel Williamson, we need you here!!

RealLindaL



Vikingwoman wrote:The only way to truly find out if it's cancer is a biopsy. I've had two lumps one which was a blocked milk duct and taken out in the surgeon's office and the second a needle aspiration. They did a mammogram twice and then mixed up my results w/ someone else's before I caught it. The needle aspiration missed the spot and hit a blood vessel which turned my breast black. I wound up having to have a biopsy anyway. I would go right to the biopsy and forget all that other crap if I had to do it again. Weeks and weeks of uncertainty waiting for these results. The biopsy was the easiest.

After a suspicious mammogram and then ultrasound, Baptist Women's Center strongly suggested I go right to core needle biopsy, and that's exactly what I did. Never looked back, never regretted the fast diagnosis.

10finding a lump in your breast Empty Re: finding a lump in your breast 9/4/2018, 11:16 am

RealLindaL



knothead wrote:Angel Williamson, we need you here!!

I know some people swear by her, but from things I've heard I'm more than skeptical.

Joanimaroni

Joanimaroni

bigdog wrote:I can't understand why your friend feels the necessity to begin with a biopsy. There are so many less invasive procedures that can be done to rule out cancer in the breast. Most insurance companies prefer to do those procedures before putting a patient through a needle biopsy, which can be very painful. Even with a biopsy a malignancy can be missed sometimes. I think she should follow her doctors orders ,and first and foremost, try not to panic. Most lumps are not cancerous, only a small percentage are.

I doubt her doctor meant what she said in the way it came out, but if she doesn't like her doctor, she should get another one. I doubt very many will do a needle biopsy before using other procedures to find out what they are looking at though. Doctors, on the whole, don't like patients telling them how to do their jobs.


"There are so many less invasive procedures that can be done to rule out cancer in the breast"

Please name all of those many ways to rule out breast cancer!

Joanimaroni

Joanimaroni

RealLindaL wrote:
Vikingwoman wrote:The only way to truly find out if it's cancer is a biopsy. I've had two lumps one which was a blocked milk duct and taken out in the surgeon's office and the second a needle aspiration. They did a mammogram twice and then mixed up my results w/ someone else's before I caught it. The needle aspiration missed the spot and hit a blood vessel which turned my breast black. I wound up having to have a biopsy anyway. I would go right to the biopsy and forget all that other crap if I had to do it again. Weeks and weeks of uncertainty waiting for these results. The biopsy was the easiest.

After a suspicious mammogram and then ultrasound, Baptist Women's Center strongly suggested I go right to core needle biopsy, and that's exactly what I did.  Never looked back, never regretted the fast diagnosis.  

I'm with you.... biopsy asap. I had the liver biopsy and relieved to have a negative result.

I see Dr. Angel Williamson every 3-6 months. Before that I saw Dr. Carol Dell when she was with the MCC.

RealLindaL



Joanimaroni wrote:
RealLindaL wrote:
Vikingwoman wrote:The only way to truly find out if it's cancer is a biopsy. I've had two lumps one which was a blocked milk duct and taken out in the surgeon's office and the second a needle aspiration. They did a mammogram twice and then mixed up my results w/ someone else's before I caught it. The needle aspiration missed the spot and hit a blood vessel which turned my breast black. I wound up having to have a biopsy anyway. I would go right to the biopsy and forget all that other crap if I had to do it again. Weeks and weeks of uncertainty waiting for these results. The biopsy was the easiest.

After a suspicious mammogram and then ultrasound, Baptist Women's Center strongly suggested I go right to core needle biopsy, and that's exactly what I did.  Never looked back, never regretted the fast diagnosis.  

I'm with you.... biopsy asap. I had the liver biopsy and relieved to have a negative result.

I see Dr. Angel Williamson every 3-6 months. Before that I saw Dr. Carol Dell when she was with the MCC.

Wish my biopsy had been negative but I'm still here 11 years later, at least partly due to its accuracy.

Joanimaroni

Joanimaroni

I wish it had been also....


A biopsy is the ONLY definitive way to diagnosis breast cancer.
Even during surgery ...a tissue sample is sent to pathology for an immediate evaluation.

bigdog



You want me to name other ways to rule out breast cancer in a breast lump? Try a 3D Mammogram. They're available at Baptist Medical Center and most other women's centers.
They can tell if a lump is a simple cyst or might be a tumor.

It's not always necessary to stick a needle in a woman's breast to reassure her that she does not have cancer.
And FYI, I speak as someone who used to have 42 D breasts, two of them in fact, and now have rebuilt 34B perfectly shaped silicone ones. I've had a double mastectomy, so I'm not totally ignorant on the subject.
There's no sense in going through unnecessary pain out of panic.
It sounds like panic is what the lady is experiencing.She needs to sit down with  survivors (they are everywhere these days) and know a lump does not mean she is going to die.

And by the way, I wonder how many doctors would even do a needle biopsy without having first done a proper imaging procedure to locate the exact shape and position of the lump? Poking around with a needle inside a woman's breast with no road map sounds more like malpractice or torture to me. I wouldn't trust a doctor like that as far as I could throw him.

16finding a lump in your breast Empty Re: finding a lump in your breast 9/5/2018, 12:06 am

Joanimaroni

Joanimaroni

3D Mammogram....Still not definitive... what are the other many ways?

BTW... doctors do not just go poking around aimlessly with needles looking for lumps...they are visually guided or visually marked internally....and you know that.

RealLindaL



bigdog wrote:Poking around with a needle inside a woman's breast with no road map sounds more like malpractice or torture to me.

Are you insane?? Joani's right -- biopsies are guided/located, NOT exploratory.

Joanimaroni

Joanimaroni

Pin the tail on the donkey?

19finding a lump in your breast Empty Re: finding a lump in your breast 9/5/2018, 12:16 pm

RealLindaL



Joanimaroni wrote:Pin the tail on the donkey?

lol!

Vikingwoman



bigdog wrote:You want me to name other ways to rule out breast cancer in a breast lump? Try a 3D Mammogram. They're available at Baptist Medical Center and most other women's centers.
They can tell if a lump is a simple cyst or might be a tumor.

It's not always necessary to stick a needle in a woman's breast to reassure her that she does not have cancer.
And FYI, I speak as someone who used to have 42 D breasts, two of them in fact, and now have rebuilt 34B perfectly shaped silicone ones. I've had a double mastectomy, so I'm not totally ignorant on the subject.
There's no sense in going through unnecessary pain out of panic.
It sounds like panic is what the lady is experiencing.She needs to sit down with  survivors (they are everywhere these days) and know a lump does not mean she is going to die.

And by the way, I wonder how many doctors would even do a needle biopsy without having first done a proper imaging procedure to locate the exact shape and position of the lump? Poking around with a needle inside a woman's breast with no road map sounds more like malpractice or torture to me. I wouldn't trust a doctor like that as far as I could throw him.

You are incorrect a 3D mamo rules out cancer. Just had my second one after a 6 month followup along w/ an ultrasound. They didn't think it was a tumor but wanted to watch it. If I had just gone and had a biopsy a year ago I would know for sure and not possibly let a cancer grow. A biopsy is not painful and would have been more conclusive than the needle aspiration. All they did was collect more money from my insurance w/ the mammo and ultrasound.

Vikingwoman



Joanimaroni wrote:3D Mammogram....Still not definitive... what are the other many ways?

BTW... doctors do not just go poking around aimlessly with needles looking for lumps...they are visually guided or visually marked internally....and you know that.

And they're not done w/o a mammo first.

RealLindaL



Vikingwoman wrote:
Joanimaroni wrote:3D Mammogram....Still not definitive... what are the other many ways?

BTW... doctors do not just go poking around aimlessly with needles looking for lumps...they are visually guided or visually marked internally....and you know that.

And they're not done w/o a mammo first.

And often a mammo plus ultrasound.

Joanimaroni

Joanimaroni

I would like to know the other 'many ways' breast cancer is definitively diagnosed without a biopsy!

bigdog



Vikingwoman wrote:
Joanimaroni wrote:3D Mammogram....Still not definitive... what are the other many ways?

BTW... doctors do not just go poking around aimlessly with needles looking for lumps...they are visually guided or visually marked internally....and you know that.

And they're not done w/o a mammo first.


Which is why you don't get the biopsy done BEFORE any other procedures, which is what the original post suggested. No responsible doctor is going to begin cutting away at a woman's breast without doing "other procedures" first.  Reread the original post. She hasn't had a mammogram or ultrasound yet, if I understand the post correctly.
A simple mammogram was able to let me know for years before I had BC that I had cysts in my breasts. Cysts are easy to detect and it's easy to tell the difference in them and cancer. They look like hollow black holes, very distinctive.  A simple mammogram could easily relieve this lady's stress without a biopsy. That's what I'm saying. I suspect that is what her doctor is thinking too.
She's scared and she wants it all out now. She needs a doctor who is able to calm her down and do all the proper procedures first.
Then if it is cancer, she might as well get both of her breasts removed like I did. She's going to worry about BC recurring the rest of her life if she doesn't. Mastectomies aren't really all that bad anymore. You're in the hospital one night, out the next day, take a few pain pills for a week or so, and go on with the rest of your life. It's been several years now and my new breasts will never sag an inch. Most policies will pay for the reconstruction and you get whatever size you want!!!!Life goes on very happily.

bigdog



And by the way-my daughter also had BC when she was 30 years old. She found the lump, did the mammogram, did the ultrasound and the doctor recommended a biopsy.The biopsy came up negative.
Six months later, she was experiencing pain in the breast and went back to have what they thought was a benign growth removed. Behind it was an aggressive tumor.
Biopsies are NOT always the definitive answer either.

All this happened 14 years ago and she had a lumpectomy plus treatment. She's 100% fine now.
Too many women look on Breast cancer as a death sentence and it just is not so anymore, not for most cases anyway.

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