All that testing I had done. The results...

Hi all. I wanted to hold off on sharing any great details until I had some sort of hard core idea what was going on, and that I hadn't talked to my kiddo about any of it yet either. You know kids, they are always online and didn't want him finding out that way, I wanted to talk to him. So now that I have talked to him and have a few more details I'll share.

It seems I'll be going in for surgery. Let me start at the beginning.

It all goes back to the mammogram. There was a spot found. So there was an ultrasound and a biopsy (as biopsies aren't to stress over because many woman go back for them, they are still NO fun). Nothing showed up cancerous or abnormal at this point, which I have little faith in biopsies as they don't tell the story of the whole presence. They did diagnose it as a Radial Scar.

What is a radial scar? Good question. I'm still not 100% sure and it seems the doctors aren't either. There is no lump. They don't know what causes these in woman. But they believe this is/could be a precursor to cancer. It's in a star shape with ends that reach out, but no hard center like with cancer.

So the doctors at the imaging place suggested it be removed. I wasn't thrilled with that as they didn't sound 100% sure what it was. So I went to a specialist, a breast cancer surgeon. She talked with me, easing my irritation at the other doctors that jump to surgery, and said not all radial scars need to be removed. There was one more test to be done, an MRI with contrast. If it glowed in the contrast as the cells were acting differently, then that was when they suggest removal otherwise you are clear (probably keep an eye on it over years though).

So I got into the noisy, knocking machine and rested for forty minutes. The doctor called with my results the next business day. It seems that the tissue of the radial scar is acting abnormally. It glowed differently in the contrast, which means it needs to be removed. So now I'm scheduling surgery.

Is it cancerous? I don't know. Back to the biopsy, there was no abnormal cells or cancer cells found. They will test it when they remove it and let me know for sure. She seems to think it'll be benign, but won't know until it's out and tested.

Could it become cancer if I don't remove it? Who knows. It seems the cells are acting abnormal and those are the ones that can turn cancerous over time. So maybe? As an added note, there is history of breast cancer in the family, so maybe this was the starts of it. I really don't know.

The catch is there is no lump with this disobedient tissue. So I'll need to have a radiation seed inserted while having a mammogram. This way she can find the area to remove with the use of a Geiger counter. She'll remove that seed, the marker from biopsy, and the radial scar in surgery. It sounds to be a quick surgery done through outpatient. So I'll be home the same day and back to normal activity the next day, though no strenuous exercise for 10-14 days.

Why am I posting this? I have been vague about the tests and things going on with me so I wanted to clarify. You all have become good friends and I appreciate your patience with me of the last year or so with all going on in the family. There are those of you who ask about my kiddo and how things are going. Thank you, because it means a lot to hear from people who care.

Also, I don't know if this will help another going through the same thing. I struggled to find facts about radial scars. I know online you can find anything in any direction you are looking for. But for me, it didn't seem there was any hard fact about radial scars and relation to cancer, it all varies on who's doing the testing and drawing of conclusions. And it seems to still be a bit new as I couldn't find much online about it that felt clear in what was said.