I'm 43 & other mammograms have came back normal. I had a partial hyst @ 40. The tech doing my mammogram said at time of mammo, that it appears that I have cysts. The dr's office called to set up an appointment for a follow up diagnostic mammogram & an ultrasound. The dr said that they found shadowing with inconsistency, didn't say if it were both or just 1. Dr also said that they may want to do a biopsy with the ultrasound. The hospital is in process of moving so I can't get in for tests till Feb 4. I feel like this is a long wait for something that could be cancer. For the past couple years, I have had breast tenderness & swelling with a brownish thickish discharge with self exam & slight squeezing. I have went from a size DDD to an H in 1 year. I have no family members with breast cancer, although my mother passed away with sudden numbing & paralysis. She woke up with it & we went to ER they said it was a stroke, upon more test discovered Glioblastoma. She had brain surgery to remove it & treatments only to pass away in 2 1/2 months. They said it usually mastisizes from somewhere else before it goes to the brain, usually from breast, but couldn't find any. I have always wondered if she might have had breast cancer but they just didn't see it, now I have this... Please help me with any info you can ...
Q: My mammogram is concerning with shadowing & inconsistency...
OK, let's take this one step at a time. First of all, I'm glad you're following through with further diagnostic tests; it's not a good idea to ignore any changes in your breasts, so kudos to you for being vigilant.
If you've had pain and discharge for several years, without either condition quickly growing worse, then neither of these would be likely to signal breast cancer. And swelling in both breasts would likewise not be a typical breast cancer symptom, as it usually causes symptoms in just one breast, not both. Your mother's unfortunate death from brain cancer doesn't put you at added risk for breast cancer; especially since it would have been highly, highly unlikely for her to have metastasized breast cancer without knowing it. Finally, waiting awhile for followup tests isn't unusual; breast cancer is usually quite slow-growing, and if by some unfortunate chance you're diagnosed with breast cancer, a couple of weeks shouldn't make any difference in its course.
So try to stay busy while you wait, and look on the bright side; chances are good you don't have breast cancer, and these tests will put the matter to rest one way or the other. Good luck - I hope you get good results from the tests. PJH
Can you tell me anything about what the shadowing w/inconsistency would mean? Thank you again for your helping me to relax some! 
We're not medically trained here, Boots, but to me it sounds like there's a change (shadowing) from a previous mammogram (which would be the inconsistency part). This could be anything - a skin fold when they were taking the shot, some previously unseen scar tissue, various other options. So again, try not to worry - look forward to this being over and going back to your everyday (hopefully worry-free!) life. PJH
Thank you again for helping to ease my mind. All previous have been clear... I guess I will just stay busy to keep it out of my mind & wait for the tests... =)
Boots, two weeks until the next test will seem like forever, but it really isn't in the world of medical diagnosis. If your doctors were really worried that you had a fast-growing cancer, they would have referred you to another hospital for an immediate test. My mother, a nurse, always used to tell me that doctors do tests ASAP when they are worried, but I didn't really understand what she meant until I was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer. All of a sudden, I was at the head of the line for tests. I was squeezed into the schedule the same day or the next. From what you say, it sounds like your doctors want to know more about what they are seeing but they are fairly sure that it will be a benign finding. Let us know what the results are. I hope you get good news.
Thank you Phyllis, I'm tryin to keep my mind busy & not let my worries get carried away. As long as I can stay busy it's not so bad. I will definately post on here when I find out what my tests results are.
Can you possibly tell me what shadowing w/inconsistency would possibly mean? Thank you again for helping to relax my mind a bit!
A shadow on an ultrasound is a dark spot. I'm not trained in ultrasound terminology, but from what I've read, it occurs because the sound waves hit an object that is denser than the tissue around it. I'm guessing the inconsistency is because the different images they have taken have not all had the same shadow leaving your doctors uncertain about what they are seeing. That's when doctors order new tests, sometimes with a different type of machine. If they are still uncertain, the only way to find out for sure if cancer is present is to take a tissue sample and look at it under the microscope.
Thank you again, you have certainly helped to ease my worry! =)
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Thank you PJ for the reassuring information. I'm trying to not worry & put it in the back of my mind, but at times it's all I can think of. Will of course let you all know what my results are...