1. < Breast Cancer

Upcoming biopsy

Posted by audreekylee06 @audreekylee06, Jul 9, 2023

Hello
I turned 40 so my first mammogram was scheduled. It showed a 9 mm mass in the right breast . They scheduled a second mammogram and ultrasound. I have dense breast so the mammogram still showed something but it’s undetermined. The ultrasound showed nothing so that scheduled me a biopsy. It’s a mammogram type biopsy with a needle. How painful is it ? and I really nervous about cancer

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salamander | @salamander | Jul 13, 2023
In reply to @meomurian "It's probably not offered as an option since tamoxifen is the main drug in studies, but..." + (show)
@meomurian

It's probably not offered as an option since tamoxifen is the main drug in studies, but my husband found a study where it was compared with tamoxifen and found as reliable. My oncologist just uses tamoxifen for his patients and his research reports.
I am post-menopausal and don't want to take tamoxifen but may have no choice at this point since I now have IDC and not just DCIS. I see an oncologist on July 31st at MD Anderson- not the same one I saw before.

Here is what I found online for Evista:
"Evista (chemical name: raloxifene) is a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) used to reduce the of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer in women with a higher-than-average risk of the disease. Evista also is used to treat osteoporosis."

This information is provided by Breastcancer.org.

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I wish replies would come into email. So hard to fond responses, etc.

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Zebra | @californiazebra | Jul 13, 2023
In reply to @salamander "I wish replies would come into email. So hard to fond responses, etc." + (show)
@salamander

I wish replies would come into email. So hard to fond responses, etc.

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Hi @salamander

Scroll up to the first comment in this thread and you'll see a little black bell on the right side at the end of the comment. Click on that and you can change your preference to receive an e-mail anytime anyone comments on this thread. You can set your preferences separately for each discussion. I hope that helps. 🙂

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meomurian | @meomurian | Jul 14, 2023
In reply to @salamander "Thank you for posting that about evista. So you had Dcis and now have Idcis? How..." + (show)
@salamander

Thank you for posting that about evista.
So you had Dcis and now have Idcis? How long between daignosis?
How did they find new cancer?

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I had DCIS in 2011 and IDC now, so it's been 12 years. I was having sharp pains, burning and tenderness in my breast where I had had the DCIS and they scheduled a breast exam, mammogram, and ultrasound. The mammogram was perfectly clear, but the ultrasound showed a suspicious lesion so they did a core-needle biopsy. That was all done on the same day. I will have an MRI on July 27 to rule out any involvement with the chest wall since the mass they saw was posterior and very close to the chest wall, just not picked up by the ultrasound. On the 31st I meet with an oncologist for a treatment plan- most likely endocrine therapy (tamoxifen). I can't have surgery or radiation since I had both of those done 12 years ago.
I plan to start with the normal dose of tamoxifen and if I have horrible side effects, I will request a lower dose which they now have.

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1 reply
Mentor
Chris, Volunteer Mentor | @auntieoakley | Jul 15, 2023
In reply to @meomurian "I had DCIS in 2011 and IDC now, so it's been 12 years. I was having..." + (show)
@meomurian

I had DCIS in 2011 and IDC now, so it's been 12 years. I was having sharp pains, burning and tenderness in my breast where I had had the DCIS and they scheduled a breast exam, mammogram, and ultrasound. The mammogram was perfectly clear, but the ultrasound showed a suspicious lesion so they did a core-needle biopsy. That was all done on the same day. I will have an MRI on July 27 to rule out any involvement with the chest wall since the mass they saw was posterior and very close to the chest wall, just not picked up by the ultrasound. On the 31st I meet with an oncologist for a treatment plan- most likely endocrine therapy (tamoxifen). I can't have surgery or radiation since I had both of those done 12 years ago.
I plan to start with the normal dose of tamoxifen and if I have horrible side effects, I will request a lower dose which they now have.

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I do not understand why they can’t do more surgery. I know they can’t do radiation again, but I would question the no surgery rule.
My grandmother had multiple surgeries for breast cancer, even after mastectomy when it came back in the scar. They said as long as it hasn’t metastasized, they would just keep removing what they could.
My own breast cancer included scraping the rib bone to get it from the chest wall.
I would hope that you can get further information as to why they say no surgery. Unless you are not a surgical candidate for another reason.
Does this appear to be early stage (small), like last time?

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meomurian | @meomurian | Jul 15, 2023

The nurse practitioner said that because that breast had been radiated, I wasn’t a good candidate for surgery. My sister, a nurse, said radiated tissue doesn’t heal well. I am going to wait till I have an MRI to see the size of the lesion and to check to see of my chest wall is involved since the ultrasound couldn’t view that. Then, I’ll see a breast surgeon and breast oncologist.

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Mentor
Chris, Volunteer Mentor | @auntieoakley | Jul 16, 2023
In reply to @meomurian "The nurse practitioner said that because that breast had been radiated, I wasn’t a good candidate..." + (show)
@meomurian

The nurse practitioner said that because that breast had been radiated, I wasn’t a good candidate for surgery. My sister, a nurse, said radiated tissue doesn’t heal well. I am going to wait till I have an MRI to see the size of the lesion and to check to see of my chest wall is involved since the ultrasound couldn’t view that. Then, I’ll see a breast surgeon and breast oncologist.

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Thank you for that. It certainly explains a few things for me. I wonder why I never once heard that in my own journey, but I guess rural docs don’t always follow all the current protocols or explain them. . I guess I am glad for that, considering the circumstances. I would not second guess any of the choices I have made.
If you are not a candidate for surgery or radiation, and this is a local recurrence, do you know what the plan would be to treat it?

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meomurian | @meomurian | Jul 16, 2023

It looks like it will be tamoxifen for 5 years. I’ll know more after I see the oncologist.

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