I went to my docter with some pain in my breast while breast feeding. They decided to do an ultrasound, since a mamogram while breast feeding isn't going to reveal anything and my docter immediately did a core biopsy. When I asked her about mastopathy she didn't seem to think that this finding would actually be better than a breast cancer finding. I'm really upset about what might be going on. Is there anything in your experience that would explain her reaction?
Hi Rose!
If it were me, I would get a second opinion. Mastopathy is nothing akin to cancer and should not be treated the same in some aspects, like surgery. But doctors do need to be vigilant and the reason is that it is dense tissue and if there is a lot of it, like in my case, it's hard to see the forest for the trees, so to speak. So I have 2 visits to my breast oncologist a year, one for a mammogram, ultrasound and physical check and the second is morely to be a physical exam and ultrasound. In the office where I go, everyone is very educated on mastopathy as a result of it being a teaching hospital.
You have every right to educate this doctor on the subject and if you want a group that is experienced in taking care of someone with mastopathy they should call my doc's office. Happy to share that with you should you decide to do that.
I'm like Ann - having dealt with diabetic mastopathy. I had subcutaneous mastectomy to remove what was left of my breast after numerous surgeries over the years to remove suspicious lumps since needle bioposy and other tests didn't provide the answers my surgeons were happy with. Like Ann - it took me awhile (5 years) to find out exactly what I had - as everytime you find another lump - you go thru' the scare of "is it cancer". Luckily, in my case, the lumps removed have never been cancer - just the diabetic mastopathy. I have had a few probs this past year with my one remaining breast - but extensive testing has concluded it is not cancer - and they are not touching that breast - which if they had planned on doing any surgical procedure - I would have recommended a needle biopsy first (these were not around in the time I was first undergong "guinea pig" testing as no one seemed to know what was growing in my breast - and eating up healthy flesh). I wrote about my problems with my breasts at this link - http://www.diabetes1.org/blogs/Annas_Blog/The_story_of_my_Dolly_Partons_as_I_fondly_like_to_call_them
One thing - correction to "needle bio" comment I made above - it should have read "CORE NEEDLE BIOPSY" that was not around in my time when I first started having probs with my left breast. Since these have become more readily available (day surgery) - they can detect what is contained inside the lumps much better then a needle biopsy - to determine whether lump is cancerous or not. In the case of diabetic mastopathy - so far - in my case - no cancer detected - but still - it is a process that the surgeon has to go thru' in order to rule out any suspicions they have. I think being proactive in my health management - has helped me - and my doctors - when I know a little bit about what they are having to face when accessing a patient. It helps them - and helps me (not freak out like the first time when I was whisked into surgery right away as the surgeon feared the worse).
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I'm 22 years old and since I was in high school have had "lumpy breasts." I finally got really scared when I found a large one and went to the doctor's 2 years ago for it. They were nervous and I had mamograms and ultra sounds ... they set up a biopsy and decided against it. Finally the doctor's gave up and told me that they weren't really anything to be concerned about and that I was fine that I most likely just had cysts in my breasts. I still think about it all the time and it scares me. On tuesday I went back to the ob/gyn for my annual and expressed my concern ... once again I was told I was just going to have lumpy breasts and that they are of no concern ... I felt like I was blown off ... but after reading you're post I realize being a type 1 diabetic this may really need to be looked into.
thediabeticprincess.blogspot.com
The trick will be to find a clinic that is interested! I had to go through a very aggressive doctor to get to my goal of understanding "am I at risk for cancer". While the current answer is no, tissue can change as we age so it's really important to have records and follow ups. Diabetic Mastopathy gave me a direct cause and understanding I didn't have before.
It's fantastic that you took the initiative to explore what it was! I was 14 years of searching for medical answers before I go the bottom of it. Any lump should be suspicious to a doctor! Take the internet information in with you to share with the doctors, don't count on them to "just know". The medical field is sometimes overloaded and under prepared. Based on their response, it will tell you whether you want to stay with them.