Worried about family

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My mum recently found a lump in her breast, at 1st the docs thought it was a cyst but she was referred to hosp for further examination, she had scan,mamogram and biopsy and was told it was cancer, but did a more indepth test after, today she went for those results and was told it’s inconclusive

what does this mean?

she now to go back tomorrow for more examination and get result of that next week…

why is this? what are they looking for?

Not as if she has enough to worry about, we now need to wait longer to find out what really is going on.

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Hi CPM

I can’t help as I’ve not had this experience but someone on here will have and so I’m bumping you up.

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hi,

I just got out of hospital after having a canceous cyst removed.

I went through the same as your mum, scan, mamogram and core biobsy and my result was that it was a cyst with cancer inside, but they would not be able to tell me more untill they had the cyst out and into the laboratory, might not be the same as your mums, but if they were still saying it was a cyst up intil the last test sounds pretty much the same.

theres lots of different things that can be going inside a cyst.
and it is sometimes hard to tell if its a cancerous non cancerous growth within the cyst. Something to do with the type of cells round it.

If it is a cancer in there like mine then it is quite a rare form of slow growing cancer and the outlook is realy good-very rarely spreads round the body,

they defintatly found cancer cells from mine on the core biopsy.But could not say much about it.

yesterday I went to have it removed and the nodes tested. The nodes are clear. At this stage they are saying no other treatment, not even raidography, although they cannot say for sure till they get the results back.

I wonder what age your mum is–the most common age for this is 63-68

so it seems to me either your mum has a complex cyst, which they told me if that was the case they would still want to remove it, or a cancerous cyst.

It a very worrying time waiting for results, for both you and your mum. Its not nice when anything goes wrong with our bodies, but cancer strikes fear into us.

I had my op yesterday afternoon and am now at home tucked up in bed cos I am still a bit groggy. Hardly any pain, stopped taking the pills this morning. And i can even sleep on that side. Just need to take it carefull for a couple of weeks.

Please remember I am not a doctor, and I do not think you can diagnose on the internet, but it does sound very similar.

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thanks jan and oldandlumpy,

Im a guy so i dont really understand all the talk when i hear it, at 1st they thought it was a cyst but when they put needles in to drain it? (think thats what they did, sorry) nothing came out, but there still a small lump in her breast, she is 65, as i said she had all the tests, they told her on monday it was cancer, but now today they say it’s inconclusive…i dont get that bit? does that mean they dont know what it is, what type/stage it is? if it belign or melignant (sorry if spelt wrong)?

they are going to do an op to take the lump out, but just now it feels as if we in limbo as dont really know whats going on, and im worrying about something the docs havent even decided what it is yet

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yes its all a mystery for some when you start learning about this–even for women, its been a roller coster of fact gathering for me, over the last 6 weeks

I would say it sounds like a cyst and at first they thought it was a simple cyst.ie one they could drain, then the mamograms and radiology showed there was something inside it. Did they definately say it was cancer at the point–for me they said may or may not be? You do get a lot of information thrown at you at these meetings. But now they are saying that the sample they took did not give them any definate answers.

but you say they want to take it out anyway and that is what they were going to do with mine wether it had the cancer in it or not. So at the moment the next step is the same. They are going to take it out It is not a huge operation, a cyst is like a capsule with nice round edges.

And then after two or three weeks they will know exactly what it is.

If it is a cancer then these are very rare, very gentle cancers. And do not need much treatment.They very rarely spread out of the breast The reason they cannot realy decide what it is is because there are so few of them around to study(1% if all cancer cases)Even the nurse i spoke to on the help line knew nothing about these types and had to go off and look it up. People with other types who get their first results talk about grades and stages and recptors, and make you feel that there were lots of questions you forgot to ask.

So I will say it again, no matter what it is they are going to take it out, and that is not a big operation. if it turns out to be a cancer in the cyst with any luck there will still be no furthur treatment cos it has not spread outside the cyst. In my case they are saying it looks as if i do not need radiation, and it is even less likely that i will need chemo.

did they mention nodes??

as i said, i could by talking off the top of my head, but it does sound as if she is going down the same road as me.As I said any sort of illness and operation is a worry, but breast cancer seems more frightening

do keep asking questions, its the uncertaintly and lack of knowledge that gets to you.

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CPM, it’s always worrying when you don’t know what you’re dealing with, and the time before things are fully diagnosed is the worst because all our fears and worries run around unchecked by facts.

Once they have the lump under the microscope they’ll be able to tell what your mum’s dealing with. With biopsies they only get a sample, and I was told Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) samples are often not as clear as a core biopsy where they take a thicker sample. Of course we don’t know on here which type of biopsy she had.

I suggest you give the helpline a ring in the morning to have a chat with them. They’re really helpful I’ve found, and may be able to give you some further information. And you might want to mention these forums to your mum, there are lots of people who can support you both.

It’s lovely to see you supporting your mum, I’m sure she’s very glad to have you. I know you’d probably say it’s just what you would do because she’s your mum, but thank you from me as a mum.

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oldandlumpy?.. sorry what are nodes? ive not actually been in with her when she’s been talking to the specialist, my father in law has, so im only hearing from them when they come out…apparently when they did the test it showed it was cancer (how i dont honestly know)they were showing her things on xrays and told her there were cancerious cells showing, it was quite small and doubt if it had spread, but were doing indepth test to find out,the ones i was talking about that were inconclusive.

thanks for replying, hope your on the mend and feeling better or as can be, my head a bit airy fairy just now so asking as much as i can and looking threw the internet, maybe am thinking the worse i dont know, sorry

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Another one here recommending the phone help lines, they will help you to know what questions to ask.
Even when mammography and needle biopsies are indicating cancer clearly, it is still impossibele to get the full picture till after surgery. When they have the actual specimen to look at they can see much more clearly what is there, know whether they have got good margins, get an actual size rather than a scan estimate of size, etc etc.
Good luck to your Mum, she is already lucky having a son finding his way dound the BCC boards for her!

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careful about the helpline though, when i rang with a question about intracystal carcinoma they did not know what i meant and had to go and look it up.But if you want infromation about proceedures and stuff they are great. And also careful about the internet. There is so much wrong information up there.

nodes. well, as I understand it, cancer stays for some time as a helpless little tumor not strong enough to spread. Then when it mutates to the next stage it either spreads through the surrounding cells, or travels round the lymph system (a watery system that goes round the body). Your lymph system has nodes all over the place to stop infection travelling round. You have probably heard people talking about swollen glands–those are nodes protecting the body from infection.Some cancers are better than others at mutating and spreading.

In the old days if you had breast cancer they took out a couple of these nodes when they took out the lump to test them to see if it was was spreading. So a breast cancer operation used to be bigger because they took lumps and nodes. Now they have discovered you have some little sential nodes guarding specific areas of your breast, like a first defence before stuff gets to the bigger nodes. So just before the operation to the main lump they inject a radiograhic die near the lump and it stains these little soldiers. The surgeon whips them out and they are sent for testing. If they have no cancer cells there they know its not going round your lymph system, so no need to take the bigger nodes and its a smaller operation. You will hear terms like WLE (thats taking the lump out) and SNB (that testing the little nodes)

Anyway thats nodes.

I asked because early on , when they see suspicious looking growths on the xrays and scans, they usually take a sample of the lump, and of the big node using a needle or gun(they cannot see sential nodes on this machine)and send them away to see if the cells in the lump are cancer and also to see if it has got to the bigger node. I had a swollen node that they could not find any cancer in it, but told me that did not necessarily mean it had not got to my nodes. , and once they got inside me and tested the baby sential nodes discovered all was well.

sounds as if you are a bit like me, trying to cope with worrying about your mum by getting as much information as you can, trying to make sense of it all. Its hard to grill your mum and step dad. Everybody is so sympathetic about how the patient is coping but it is easy people not to think about how the family is coping-- well people on here do care.

remeber to keep coming on and asking questions.

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Hi CMP
so sorry to hear your mum is going through this to be told it was cancer then for it to be inconclusive. A biopsy tells them exactly what they are dealing with so this is very strange.

The Grade & stage wouldn’t be properly astablished until whatever was surgically removed then they have the WHOLE picture. A biopsy is given a stage but that can go up after surgery & pathology looking at the lump & area around it removed (Margin). The good thing is its a small lump

If your mum could call her breast cancer nurse & ask her she will be able to clear some things up for her. So now that it is inconclusive what have they told your mum is the next step ? more tests ?

All the best keep us posted
Mekala x

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Sorry I didn’t see your last post that is good that they are removing it this will give them a clearer picture usually have 10 days - 2 weeks wait for follow up on the histology results & this will be when your mum will know excactly what it is

Hugs
Mekala x

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oldandlumpy - Please be careful. You aren’t a doctor. Please take this comment as you find, but it is much better for this user to seek advice from professionals, regardless of weather the helpline was useful to you or not.
(Shoot me down in flames!)

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Thanks to everyone who has left a comment, geting used to prob isnt the right phrase or words, but think ive got my head round it a little bit more, the fright of Cancer and shock at 1st did get to me, my mum gets her results tomorrow (hopefully one way or the other) am sure the way it happens is her breast cancer nurse will phone her with the results and then she to go to the hospital to talk threw the next stage & treatment with the specialist… i know she going to the hospital tomorrow anyway about it… once again thanks to everyone x

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you are quite right, i have been trying to add a qualifyer to each post. i have no medical qualifications, and until a few months ago no knowledge or interest in BC.

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All the best to your mum do let us know how she gets on & atleast tomorrow she will know more
hugs
Mekala X

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hi, i posted that comment last night, so my mum got her results today, so here goes…

i hope am not wrong but it sounding very positive and the best of what could have been (sorry not meaning to offend anyone, am feeling quite releived now tho)

it is cancer, but just now it seems localised, so she to go in july for the op to remove the lump and a margin, while she’s in getting the op they will do checks then to make sure its not spread, after the op they will discuss if and what treatment is required, although i beleive radiotherapy was mentioned?

to me that, how do i put this, i know cancer isnt a good thing to have, but this is a good result to get? and it seems they have got it before it gets worse?

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CPM, I’m sure no offense will be taken on your relief for your mum. It’s ALWAYS good news when it’s not as bad as first feared.

I suspect you’ll learn a lot about BC in a very short time, and if you’re interested then the Publications part of this site is very helpful, as is Macmillan and Cancer Research UK. Try to steer clear of single-issue sites that may be trying to separate worried people from their money, there are a lot out there. And of course the helpline (which a lot of people have found helpful).

Good luck to your mum, and I hope you can all get a bit of sleep tonight, I suspect you had difficulty with sleep last night.

CM

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CPM, yes, that sounds like a good result. Anything in one place where they can do a WLE/lumpectomy and some radio is good news, generally.
Hope you manage to get a bit of rest…
Ann x