Yesterday, I went to another center to have a more advanced mammogram, as well as a breast ultrasound, and the doctor found something that she called an “architectural anomaly” and she wants me to have a needle biopsy, which is scheduled for next Thursday. I know women (and men too) have this done all the time, and the findings are usually benign, but I’m still terrified.
Of course, me the idiot had to consult Dr. Google and really scared myself. :rolleyes: None of the images looked anything like what they found; mine was so small, it required significantly blowing up the image, and it kind of looks like a river with a wide spot in it. It’s probably a milk duct.
I guess the absolute worst case scenario is that they’re going to catch a cancer at stage zero, and they’ll get it all in the surgical biopsy. That’s all I can think about.
Last night, I caved and took a Valium and drank a little wine a few hours later. People on another website said, “You didn’t cave. You did what you had to.” Really, it WAS a little wine - one of those single-serving bottles they sell at the grocery store for $1 or so. I keep a couple on hand for tough times like this.
Best of luck. Health scares are the worst. Dr Google; there is only one thing worse than looking up symptoms, and that is test results. Google cannot replace medical degrees. And I sympathize, I have done it too, you are looking for reassurance and end up thinking about fixing your will.
I did the same thing when I had to get a biopsy. I ended up convinced that I had a 40% chance of cancer. I was terrified, and worried about leaving my young children without a mother. It turned out fine. There are no guarantees of course, but try not to let Google be your diagnostician. The Dr. is the one who actually has seen you.
nearwildheaven, from the way you describe it, it sounds like at the very worst it may be what I had about 4 years ago–the mildest form of DCIS or, as I call it, the teensiest bout of breast cancer. They got the whole problem area out with very good margins; I took Tamoxifen for awhile, and talked to a radiation oncologist but decided against going through that kind of therapy since it seemed like overkill in my case.
Considering what some women go through, I think I suffered the minimal amount of pain and inconvenience over it and was more frightened by the possibilities than by anything that actually happened. I’ve been clear in all my subsequent mammograms.
It’s definitely not time to worry yet and certainly not to be terrified. I’ve had friends who have had multiple biopsies over the years and they turned up nothing every time.
The biopsy itself may freak you out, not because it’s painful (it’s not), but because, depending on where the spot is in your boob that they want to see, you may be asked to lie facedown on a table and hang your boobs through a hole in the table so the radiologist can roll (in his/her rolling chair) UNDER you to do the deed. I’m not making this up. When my biopsy was scheduled, I googled it and, holy crap, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. As it turns out, you have to remember that they do this all day every day, so this totally strange position is no big deal to them.
My good friend had her biopsy lying on her back because of where the place was that they wanted to check out.
My sitch turned out to be very much like Miss Mapp’s-- small Stage 1 cancer, lumpectomy, good margins, some radiation, and an estrogen blocker. Mine really was no big deal. Some cases are, of course, big deals-- not to minimize them. But it’s too early for you to worry much.
Keep that picturein your head of you lying facedown (or almost facedown) like a car on a lift, and you’ll be too weirded out to be terrified.
I’ve definitely heard of the face-down breast exam, and it makes sense to me, because that way it’s easier to immobilize the breast and find the area they need to examine. They will also put a small wire in the area, which is big enough to show up on an x-ray but not enough to cause problems with MRI machines. This way, it will be easier to locate should that be needed for future reference.
There was a thread some time ago when ThelmaLou had her face-down needle biopsy. The advice I gave her then was:
a. You’ll be wearing an open-in-front hospital gown or top; use the flap on whichever side as a sort of hammock to contain the breast that isn’t going into the hole in the table. The first time I went through this, I felt as if the non-biopsied breast was going to fall down into the hole too and get in the way. There probably wasn’t much danger of that really happening, but the second time, I felt more comfortable with it tucked out of the way.
b. You’ll be lying there for 20-30 minutes while they’re working on you, and you must keep perfectly still. Find some object in the room to fix your attention on and keep focused on that; it will keep you from feeling restless and wanting to shift position.
That’s all I can think about. 
