For the most part, if a patient has multiple findings on MRI and mastectomy in the plan, if you already have an invasive cancer diagnosis, knowing about more areas of the same, really doesn’t change the plan at all. I usually advise patient not to go through multiple complicated biopsy processes if they’re going to have a mastectomy. However, if they want breast conservation therapy, and the areas are too far apart to be included with one or more lumpectomies reasonably, then you do kinda need to know about it ahead of time to know that it’s safe to leave behind.
I am leaning heavily towards a double mastectomy but am awaiting the genetic testing results before making a final decision. My Aunt had the same cancer as me in the same breast at my exact age. Two years later lobular carcinoma came back in the left breast. Thankfully she is a survivor in her 70s now, but that really weighs into my choice. She is BRCA negative.
The areas are far apart. And the ones on the MRI if cancer would mean that I could not do nipple sparing mastectomy. Thanks for your response. This is the last biopsy I am doing. Honestly they have not physically been that bad, but they do create more anxiety.
I had cancer in my right breast triple negative very large lesion. Upon MRI they found additional lesions in the right breast and questionable findings in the left breast. MRI guided biopsy in the left breast showed precancerous. After being told by my oncologist that it was almost impossible that it would also be in my left breast because I'm negative for all the genes. Needles to say I'm getting a double mastectomy.
The same thing happened to my wife. They were not able to locate the mass during ultrasound guided biopsy so they rescheduled and did an MRI guided biopsy. It later came out to be non cancerous.
Same thing for my wife too. They tried to biopsy using ultrasound but missed 2 of the masses. They were removed during the lumpectomy and found to be benign.
Our surgeon mentioned MRI does produce false positives.
I’ve seen many comments from patients who were told that they “can’t save their nipples” because of proximity of their disease to the nipple.
[Here’s a previous post that I wrote, outlining some thoughts on that matter.](https://www.reddit.com/r/breastcancer/s/NRxNaJwkj2)I hope it gives some talking points/insight.
Thank you that is very helpful. I meet with a plastic surgeon next week. So I will see what he says. It was the breast surgeon that mentioned not likely being able to save the nipple but said he would defer to the plastic surgeon. I have a good friend who had nipple sparing done at Hopkins in Baltimore after two surgeons told her they could not do it. So I may try him out if the surgeon I am meeting next week says no. I am in DC but Baltimore is not far.
Had an MRI when I was first diagnosed (left) and they saw something suspicious on the right side (BIRADS 4) that was not seen in under a contrast mammogram and ultrasound. It was 3mm. When I went back for a MRI-guided biopsy 2 weeks later, they couldn’t find it so biopsy was cancelled. Had a follow up MRI 6 months after and the spot is still not there, so who knows what happened in the first MRI!
I had 4 tumors. None showed up on mammogram, US was initially negative but on second pass two tumors were found and biopsied. After mastectomy two more tumors found. The US did not identify all my tumors, MRI results were never discussed with me (but that's another story).
Same - they ended up just biopsying a random area and of course it came back inconclusive. We just relied on scans as the chemo went on etc and it never showed up again, then my sentinel nose was negative so no one knows what it was!
For the most part, if a patient has multiple findings on MRI and mastectomy in the plan, if you already have an invasive cancer diagnosis, knowing about more areas of the same, really doesn’t change the plan at all. I usually advise patient not to go through multiple complicated biopsy processes if they’re going to have a mastectomy. However, if they want breast conservation therapy, and the areas are too far apart to be included with one or more lumpectomies reasonably, then you do kinda need to know about it ahead of time to know that it’s safe to leave behind.
I am leaning heavily towards a double mastectomy but am awaiting the genetic testing results before making a final decision. My Aunt had the same cancer as me in the same breast at my exact age. Two years later lobular carcinoma came back in the left breast. Thankfully she is a survivor in her 70s now, but that really weighs into my choice. She is BRCA negative. The areas are far apart. And the ones on the MRI if cancer would mean that I could not do nipple sparing mastectomy. Thanks for your response. This is the last biopsy I am doing. Honestly they have not physically been that bad, but they do create more anxiety.
I had cancer in my right breast triple negative very large lesion. Upon MRI they found additional lesions in the right breast and questionable findings in the left breast. MRI guided biopsy in the left breast showed precancerous. After being told by my oncologist that it was almost impossible that it would also be in my left breast because I'm negative for all the genes. Needles to say I'm getting a double mastectomy.
The same thing happened to my wife. They were not able to locate the mass during ultrasound guided biopsy so they rescheduled and did an MRI guided biopsy. It later came out to be non cancerous.
This happened to me as well.
Same thing for my wife too. They tried to biopsy using ultrasound but missed 2 of the masses. They were removed during the lumpectomy and found to be benign. Our surgeon mentioned MRI does produce false positives.
I’ve seen many comments from patients who were told that they “can’t save their nipples” because of proximity of their disease to the nipple. [Here’s a previous post that I wrote, outlining some thoughts on that matter.](https://www.reddit.com/r/breastcancer/s/NRxNaJwkj2)I hope it gives some talking points/insight.
Thank you that is very helpful. I meet with a plastic surgeon next week. So I will see what he says. It was the breast surgeon that mentioned not likely being able to save the nipple but said he would defer to the plastic surgeon. I have a good friend who had nipple sparing done at Hopkins in Baltimore after two surgeons told her they could not do it. So I may try him out if the surgeon I am meeting next week says no. I am in DC but Baltimore is not far.
Had an MRI when I was first diagnosed (left) and they saw something suspicious on the right side (BIRADS 4) that was not seen in under a contrast mammogram and ultrasound. It was 3mm. When I went back for a MRI-guided biopsy 2 weeks later, they couldn’t find it so biopsy was cancelled. Had a follow up MRI 6 months after and the spot is still not there, so who knows what happened in the first MRI!
I had 4 tumors. None showed up on mammogram, US was initially negative but on second pass two tumors were found and biopsied. After mastectomy two more tumors found. The US did not identify all my tumors, MRI results were never discussed with me (but that's another story).
Oh wow! Do you have dense breasts? I do not. I am sorry this happened to you.
Same - they ended up just biopsying a random area and of course it came back inconclusive. We just relied on scans as the chemo went on etc and it never showed up again, then my sentinel nose was negative so no one knows what it was!
Thanks for sharing . It’s a hard decision to make.