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Bi-Rad 3? Confused and want to know what questions to ask oncologist?
Hey all - new here. I will be as brief as possible - starting probably mid march, i had a rash that started in my armpit and eventually spread to left breast (the rash has gotten somewhat better) - went to see my doctor a couple of times, nothing he prescribed worked - started having a mild burning sensation in left breast so in June he ordered a diagnostic mammogram and left breast ultrasound. Something came up on both the mammo and ultrasound - one seemed to be a cyst (12 o clock position) and the other mass was considered "indeterminent" (at 7-8 o'clock position) so it was given a Bi-Rad of 0.
I was referred to a cancer centre here where i live for a radiologist guided ultrasound. I had that appointment last week. The perplexing thing is, this ultrasound showed something completely different. The "indeterminent" mass seen on first ultrasound was not able to be visualized at all -nothing was seen at the 7 or 8 o'clock position but they did find "something" at the 6:30 position that they think is what the first ultrasound captured but it wasn't something they are concerned about - radiologist said this "mass" is likely just glandular tissue or something like that - the other difference is that this ultrasound showed yes a cyst at the 12 oclock position but also another mass that is isoechoic and is not a cyst - the results of the second ultrasound i was given a bi-rad of 3 -and advised i come back in 6 months for another mammo and ultrasound. I should also note that i'm 44 yrs old and about 4 days before my appt at the cancer centre, my birth mother (i was adopted at birth) told me that she has just been diagnosed with BC -so my anxiety was /is pretty high.
My question is, i'm just so confused - how can two different ultrasounds show different things (about a month between first ultrasound and second one)? Is this an error on the part of the ultrasound tech, how a radiologist reads a report? was the "indeterminent" mass really there but then disappeared within a month?
I was called back in to meet with the oncologist in their breast clinic and that appt is this Friday just so that i can ask questions, etc etc/ I do appreciate how thorough they are being. My question is, i understand the rationale of waiting 6 months because i'm guessing the liklihood of cancer is small and why put someone through a biopsy if it's not needed - but i also am struggling with trust issues because of the two different results and i just feel something in my gut doesn't seem right - does it make sense to push for either a third ultrasound (perhaps done somewhere else) to get a different opinion, or push for a biopsy? Is it really safe to wait 6 months?
thanks and sorry for so long - i'm quite anxious and i'm just trying to think of any questions i may want or need to ask the oncologist when i meet with her on Friday.
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You could push for a biopsy. At your age and with family history, you might feel a lot better. I assume that in 6 months the docs will look to see if anything has gotten bigger. Let us know what the oncologist says. I wonder if they do biopsies to help with the inevitable anxiety. One breast oncologist removed a dark spot on my breast for that exact reason, and because I was pregnant at the time she said I didn't need any extra worries.
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2 ReactionsYes i'm very interested to see what the oncologist will say - i work in healthcare (family health team - i'm a social worker) - one of the docs explained to me that while i may think doing a biopsy now will help with my anxiety, going through such a procedure when it hasn't even been determined if it's necessary or not could possibly increase my anxiety more. To be honest, if the two ultrasound results were not so different, i don't think i'd be as anxious as i am now. If the first ultrasound came back as ok "solid mass, probably benign" and bi-rad of 3, come back in 6 months..sure i'd still be nervous about it but not this nervous - i''m trying to trust the second ultrasound i had because it was done at a breast clinic and they literally spend all day looking at breast tissue - but what if the first one was correct and whatever they saw was missed on the second one - so hopefully the oncologist can also provide some clarity around this - thanks for your response
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1 ReactionI had BI-RADS 5 and didn't realize BI-RADS was such low risk:
"BI-RADS 3 is an intermediate category in the breast imaging reporting and data system. A finding placed in this category is considered probably benign, with a risk of malignancy of > 0% and ≤ 2%."
It does sound as if monitoring might be best. Let us know what the doc says!
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4 ReactionsI’m so sorry that you’re having to go through this. I feel that sometimes our breast tissue changes according to where we are within our cycle (assuming that you’re premenopausal). Things seen may not be as visible during another time of month.
How does the rash look? Do you still see or feel any redness? Your description sounds as though it could be an indicator of inflammatory breast disease or cancer. I might ask the oncologist about that.
I understand your concern and hope you receive further direction during your appointment.
Also, perhaps you can discuss with your oncologist if genetic testing should be considered ♥️
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1 Reactionoh good point about breast changes during our cycles and how that may appear how things look on ultrasound - that makes me feel less anxious. The redness and itchiness is still there but it's really odd..it hasn't gotten worse but not better per se - i'm going to ask the oncologist about it tomorrow -i don't have any of the other symptoms that would indicate IBC, so while i still think it's a possibility i'm not as concerned about it. My birth mom just did genetic testing and will get her results in the next few days - i may still get the testing because i know it's possible for her to not have the BRCA gene mutation and i still could as it could have come from my birth father's side (i know nothing about that side of my biological family). If the oncologist feels it's ok to wait 6 months or not do any additional imaging, then i think this will lessen my anxiety - thank you for your response!
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4 ReactionsIf push for an MRI. A cancer will show on an MRI that might not show on a mammo or ultrasound. That was my case