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Lump Under Rigth Arm, No Masses And Calcification In Breasts. Had Ultrasound And Mammogram Test. Is It Breast Cancer?

Posted on Thu, 16 May 2013

Question: 35 y/o female overall pretty healthy, no hx that I know for breast cancer. Felt lump under right arm. Test taken mammogram, right after ultrasound then fna. Documentation as follows: mammogram - extremely dense tissue in both breasts, a right axillary mass corresponding to the palpable area of concern, no masses in either breast, no suspicious calcifications. Ultrasound - 1.2 cm slightly irregular hypoechoic mass in axilla, no abnormal shadowing. FNA - atypical ductal epithellal clusters, recommends surgical excision. Bi-Rad 4. Is the above common for cancer? I know the excision is going to have to happen, just want to prepare myself the best that I can.

Answered by Dr. Rohan Khandelwal (3 hours later)

Dear ma'am,

Sorry to hear about your problem. BIRADS is a system of mammographic reporting which characterises lesions into various types. BIRADS 4 is considered to be a suspicious lesion, which is associated with a certain risk of malignancy and requires excision for proper diagnosis. Your fnac is also suggestive of atypical cells, which is another pointer towards a suspicious lesion. I know you are concerned and anxious about the diagnosis but the only the final report after decision can tell us whether it is malignant or not.
Even if it turns out to be cancer, it is at a very early stage and associated with very good cure rates and survival.

Hoping for the best. Please feel free to clarify any other query.

Dr. Rohan Khandelwal
Breast Oncologist

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Rohan Khandelwal (1 hour later)

Thank you for responding Dr. Khandelwal. I do understand that the only way to know for sure is through a biopsy. I guess what I would really like to know at this point is the probably this being malignant considering the location and the results so far. If not malignant now what are the odds of malignancy later?
Thank you again for your earlier response XXXXXXX

Answered by Dr. Rohan Khandelwal (1 hour later)

Dear Ma'am,

Thank you for asking your query. Yes..it does look suspicious for a malignancy considering the report of the scan and FNAC but the final confirmation will be after biopsy only.
If it does not turn out to be cancer and if the lump has been completely removed, then your chances of developing cancer are the same as the general population (no higher risk).

Hoping for the best.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Rohan Khandelwal (31 hours later)

Thank you again for responding Dr. Khandelwal! One last question had labs drawn yesterday (cbc) all came back normal. Liver, kidneys, pancreas and thyroid all look good too. Is this to say malignancy is less likely?

Answered by Dr. Rohan Khandelwal (11 minutes later)

Dear ma'am,

Thank you for asking your query. It is good that all the blood investigations are normal but unfortunately blood investigations are unable to tell us whether the lump is malignant or not. Sometimes liver function tests are deranged in patients with metastatic disease, but that is certainly not applicable in your case.

Hoping for the best.

Note: For further queries related to kidney problems Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar