I went to my doctors a couple of weeks ago with a thickened area of tissue in my right breast which had been there about 6 weeks. She was concerned and sent me to the hospital under the 2week wait. The surgeon felt the area and immediately said that there was something there without comparison to the other breast and that I should have an ultrasound. The ultrasound was clear and then when I went back into the surgeon he said that it is fine and it must just be fuller than the other side. I obviously am pleased if this is all ok, but I cant help but still be worried. Should I worry or just get on with my life? So sorry to bother you all but I cant get the words “there is definately something there” out of my head!
You had an ultrasound which shows up EVERYTHING,better than mammograms(in younger people),can you still feel the lump?But dont forget,boobs are weird and lumpy sometimes anyway,and you have had the best check.So I think you hit the nail on the head when you said you should just forget it and get on with your life,as I am sure it would have showed up on the ultrasound if there was anything to worry about.And the fact that it didnt is a brilliant sign for you. take care and if I were you I wouldnt worry at all. x x
Yeah I can still feel it. Thanks, I guess it is fine then thank goodness. Just worried me that the expert thought there was something there and the ultrasound couldnt see it, I thought maybe the ultrasound was wrong but if they are reliable then it must just be a change in my breast for no reason. Now I am not sure what I should report to docs in future though as I really thought a change was something to worry about.
SO pleased it isnt though. I hope all of you on here are doing well and are getting the best of care x
I hesitated before I wrote this post because I don’t want to frighten you but…my ultrasound showed nothing but the consultant did a biopsy of the thickened area I had in my breast just to confirm there was nothing. She was shocked herself when it came back with the results…I had cancer. I had a mastectomy and lymph node clearance. Grade 3 with 3/12 nodes involved.
I too have hesitated like Sheana. My situation is different though. I had bc - a 5cm tumour treated with chemo and rads which disappeared. 5 years later I was convinced it was back - it felt different but it took me 14 weeks to convince my oncologist and all who looked at it, that I was right! I had mammograms, ultra sounds and they kept telling me it was radiotherapy changes (my boob was rock hard). I was never convinced they were right so I kept on and on. Eventually they said they would do another mammo which I refused. They therefore did another CT and couldnt miss it - it was the whole breast!!! The rest is history.
I realise your situation is quite different poppy but would say if you are not convinced then don’t let up till you are. It is your body!
I have to agree with Dawn…my mammogram was clear too but my hospital do 3 tests if they are unsure what’s going on. The ultrasound, the mammogram and then a core biopsy. My cancer only showed up in the biopsy and after my operation I spoke to the doctor who saw me in the clinic and she said that she had actually changed her procedures because of my case.
It may be unusual but it’s not impossible for tests to show nothing and a dx is only made when tisue is examined. I would keep on at them Poppy.
the triple test is about 99% accurate, and is essential in my opinion, but even this doesn’t spot everything, I think you should go for an MRI if this comes out ok,and get the lumpy/hard area removed.
I had breast cancer which wasn’t detected by mammograms, did show up on an ultrasound though, but the core biopsies (5) all missed the cancerous area. I had the lump removed and it was cancerous.
Hi
I don’t want to add to your worrys but last year i had mammogram ultrasound, fna and biopsy that all came back neg. i went a way and for a full year had in the back of my mind something was wrong i have now been dignosed with grade 2 invasive cancer with 3/17 node if you are unhappy insisted on more test its your right i wish i had
Poppet
Thank you all so much for your replies, it means a lot. I have nagging doubts because it just feels wrong to me and I am constantly aware of my breast. It doesnt hurt at all, it just feels different (not just to the touch if you know what I mean). I think I might print this off and take it with me to my GP and ask to be referred for a biopsy. I do not want to leave it to grow (if there is anything there) having said that I dont want to be treated like I am wasting anyone’s time.
thanks again everyone, I wish you all the best care in the world xx
Again. I don’t want to scare you but I went to the doc with an indrawn nipple. Mammogram and ultrasound both came back clear, but the surgeon said ‘we can be a bit more hi tech now’ and sent me for an MRI. I thought this was just belt and braces and got a horrible shock when the MRI showed something and then it was into biopsy territory and the rest of the jolly business. I had a mastectomy on 8 September - Grade 3 with 5/10 lymph nodes involved. Starting chemo 8 October.
I think the message is that its your body and you know it. If you think its worng then scream and shout and wave your boobs about if thats what it takes, but get something done. Just starting on the journey myself but already have GP who thinks that its not worth bothering but a partner whos absolutley on the button saying that he can feel a difference and this aint right. Goiong to start my screaming match on Monday (believe me the GP don’t stand a chance!!)
Thanks guys, I just hope I dont crumble at the gp’s. I am more and more worried about it as although the ultrasound didnt find anything, it also didnt find the lump that myself, OH, GP and surgeon felt so how can they say that nothing is wrong? I really shouldnt read stuff on the internet either as I think it makes it worse. Does anyone know what proportion of ultrasounds are false negatives? Would you guys say that a biopsy is the best test to have at this point?
Hi i have had ultrasound and they saw nothing but then had mammogram and the doctor said there is something there had another mammogram and then they did biopsy they still don`t know what mine is so waiting to hear what they are going to do now not everything can be seen on untrasound as i know. you know your own body you know when something is wrong with it so go back and see doctor shout if you need to but get someone else to look at it good luck with it.
I wholeheartedly agree with everyone else, you should definatley go back to your GP. I had Ultrasounds and Mammograms on two separate visits (Oct 06 and Dec 06) both of which were read as clear and I distinqly remember the radiologist sayin that the left breast was very lumpy. I was stupid and left it for another 6 months before returning to my GP who sent me for an urgent appt. I then had another US, Mam and core biospy and was eventually diagnosed with Grade 3 Invasive Ductal Carcenoma, which had spread to 7/10 lymph nodes, I also had to have several scans to see if it had spread further, which it hadn’t.
I must add that I am now fine and halfway through my Herceptin (I was HER 2 positive) so PLEASE go back to your GP, you are intitled to a second opinion.
Ok, I feel quite anxious about it and that will not go away until I have had a second opinion. A quick google search suggests that as many as 10-22% of ultrasound scans are false negatives, shocking eh? Does anyone mind if I print this off and take it with me to show the doctor that ultrasounds are not difinitive? I will respect all privacy and remove anyone’s post if they do not wish it to be shown.
I was the first person that posted in a negative way and as I wrote, I hesitated for quite a while before I wrote it. The person before had said that ultrasounds show everything etc but my experience was different and in the end I felt that I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t share it with you, even though it was a negative slant on the subject. As you have seen since, I am not alone in my experience.
I truly hope that all will be well with you but if it isn’t, the time factor is very important and I didn’t want you to waste time before you asked for more tests. Keep on at the doctors until your mind is at rest.
I think that it is important to have breast lumps removed as they may be cancerous and not show up in any tests - I think that this is what happens if you go privately rather than persistent scanning, tests etc on the NHS.
In my case it was missed for over two years - repeat mammos , tripple test, 2 ultrasound, only when it had spread to lymph and bones (broken rib) did the consultant finally admit he should have done at least a biopsy of my lump.
A second opinion(private) taken once cancer had spread from a top london surgeon he said that he would have removed it straight away if I had visited him in the first instance …if only.
Oh and I am fine now in remission - !!! Thankfully !!!