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Time and time again we have heard and read that the early diagnosis of breast cancer saves lives. We are told to do our monthly breast exam, get our mammograms and have an annual breast exam done by our doc. So why when we do this and find a lump are we then so often patted on the head and told to wait and watch?
People who wait and watch die.
I went to the gynecologist the day I found my lump by breast self exam and was told to wait and watch. I didn't want to wait and watch and insisted I see a breast specialist.
The breast specialist said to wait and watch. He got up, I sat. He shook my hand, I sat. He handed me an appointment card for three months later, I sat. He opened the door, I sat. He said, "Goodbye," I sat. He called me stubborn, I sat. He scheduled the biopsy, I stood.
If you have a lump and are told any of the following, get a better informed doctor or be demanding:
All breast lumps should be thoroughly checked out. This is often done in steps starting with the least invasive.
If you find a lump, go to an oncology surgeon. Your gynecologist can refer you or they can be found at most major hospitals. Hospitals now often have Breast Health Centers too. Oncology surgeons are the ones that diagnose the most breast cancers.
The surgeon will do a breast exam, probably order a mammogram and maybe an ultrasound. Many hospitals do these tests within days of your visit.
A needle biopsy may be done during the visit to the surgeon. Needle biopsy are screens only, if they show cancer you have it, if they don't you still may have it.
During a needle biopsy, the needle is passed in and out of the lump. Cancer cells don't stick together like normal cells do, so if the needle passes through cancer cells it should pick them up. But if the cancer is only in a small area, the needle could miss it entirely.
If the needle biopsy comes back negative, you may be scheduled for a full biopsy. If it or the mammogram comes back positive, you are scheduled for a lumpectomy or mastectomy and skip the biopsy surgery. Thus a needle biopsy can save you the biopsy surgery.
Please email me your diagnosis story. How was your cancer found? Were you told to wait and watch? Were you told any of the above myths? Did you believe them? Do you wish you had done something differently when your lump was found? What do you wish you had known? What have you learned that would you like others to know? Please send me a paragraph or two so I can add it to this page.
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