I think I was the only one who truly believed the lump in my breast was cancer. No one else -- my mom, my sister, my husband, my doctors -- believed I was a candidate for this disease. I was young, had no family history, had no known risk factors. It just wasn't likely, even after an ultrasound revealed something suspicious.
The surgeon who performed my biopsy was in the same camp. It was probably nothing.
November 2004
On November 23, I had a biopsy. A large needle was placed in my breast and a piece of the lump was pulled out. The doctor had a hard time getting a piece, however, because it moved around so much. He said this was a good sign -- the movement. He sent the tissue to pathology and told me to call his office the next afternoon for the results.
Note: The contents of this blog are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice or substitute for professional care. For medical emergencies, dial 911!
1. Are you starting to understand what it means when a new screening technique, e.g. MRI mammograms, detects more cancers but at the cost of many more benign biopsies?
Time to re-read this post from September and the comments:
http://www.thecancerblog.com/2006/09/08/mri-mammograms/
A biopsy is never benign. It is a traumatic event, both physically and psychologically. A lab report, however, can be benign. I hope yours will.
Emmanuel Maicas, Pathologist in Canada
Posted at 1:59PM on Nov 23rd 2006 by Emmanuel Maicas