Another Day, Another Tumor

Alas, dear reader, I wish I had good news out of today’s ultrasound, but I don’t. From the MRI, they had identified 4 small masses that they wanted examined further. The first step of this plan was to look for them via ultrasound, to see if they can be biopsied this way, as this is easier on the patient. They believe they found 2 of the masses on ultrasound, one on each breast. Neither appears to be a cyst (boo!), and both are now scheduled to be biopsied with the assistance of ultrasound (to help them locate the mass) on Tuesday. From eyeballing it, the radiologist is thinking the one on the left, about 3 cm away from the known large tumor, also looks cancerous. She thinks the one on the right may be benign. But we won’t know this for sure until the biopsy results come in later next week. They also found a 3rd mass on the left side which they think is a “satellite” of the main tumor, but this didn’t concern them particularly because it will be removed with the surgery, so doesn’t require biopsy.

Each doctor visit seems to lead to multiple additional tests required, and this was no exception. When the 2 new masses are biopsied, they will place a small metal pin in them to mark the location. Later, I will have another MRI to check the location of the 2 pins. This will be compared to the original MRI image to see if the masses found and sampled are indeed the ones identified as questionable on the first MRI. Then, assuming the masses found on the first MRI but not by ultrasound are still looking suspicious, I will probably have to have those biopsied while in the MRI machine for a 3rd time. Fun!

Updates to surgical plan are pending results of all this fun and games.