2 Lymph Nodes found, said benign, wait 6 months???

Hello!  I'm glad I found this forum.  Some history on myself... I am 35 yrs old, married w/ two children and I have a family history of breast cancer.  My Mom got breast cancer when she was about 50, she let it go too long before she got checked and she died after it got into her lungs at the age of 59.  It was stage 4 when she finally went to the dr and she only received treatment the last 5 yrs of her life.  It was in her bones as well as both breasts when she was finally dx.  And it never moved to any other organs until a year before she died it moved into her lung.  Chemo and radiation was able to keep it at bay for awhile, but then stopped working.

I have been having my mammos since I was 30.  They've all been good till this year.  I had one done last week and they called me back this week for a follow up, for what she said on the phone were "changes".  So today I went back in for the additional scans and an ultrasound.  It was the worst 40 minutes of my life!  She finally came back in and said the radiologist felt like everything looked benign but for me to come back in 6 months to make sure.  And she said I was free to go.  But I was like, "Hey wait a minute, what was it that was found?"  I had heard her talking during the ultrasound to another tech in the room about 2 different "its" one at 12:00 and another at 11:00 (right breast).  And I had heard them both say they looked the same size and something about lymph node.

So She said yes they were both lymph nodes but the dr felt like they were benign.  I guess I was hesitating about leaving and she said that my dr would get all the information and if I wasn't comfortable with waiting the 6 months I could talk it over with him.  I believe she said they were both really small, but I don't know the exact size.  I've done my self exams and I have never felt anything and I had a breast exam with my papsmear a week before the original mammogram, and she said everything felt fine.

I've read on this board and on others that lymph nodes can be nothing at all, infection for some reason, and also cancer.  I just don't know if I should feel confident in waiting the 6 months, what do you all think?  And also since there was 2 of them and not just one, would that be worse than if there were just 1?

I'm just full of anxiety and I realize the news could have been worse but it could have been better too.

I would love to hear from you all, thanks for "listening".

[zouzi]

Hi,  it is always good to hear the radiologist say that you have nothing to worry about and this should at least make you feel somewhat relieved.From what I can understand from your post is that you are still worried and if I were you, I would want to be reassured 100% that indeed there is nothing to worry about.You could if you wish, wait the 6 months as you were advised to do or seek a second opinion.You can also ask from your doctor if you could have more tests done like a biopsy of some sort.Since you have a family history of breast cancer I wouldn't if I were you, be satisfied with the radiologist saying that he just "felt" like the lumps were benign.I am sure that your doctor knowing your family history, will give you the best advise concerning your situation.Best wishes...

[fvf147]

Thanks zouzi for your reply, I guess I've just got a lot of unsettling questions and wondered if anyone else had experience with lymph nodes showing up and ending up indeed being benign or being the beginning of cancer.  

I'd read on some other boards that lymph nodes showing up on a mammogram could either be nothing or something very serious.  But I couldn't figure out how the lymph node could be seen before a cancer even growed, or at least was big enough to be picked up by multi-view mammo or ultrasound.  You know... which comes first, the chicken or the egg.  Maybe I'm just not educated enough on how a cancer starts in the breast, but I'd always understood cancer first then if it spreads... swollen lymph nodes.

[only1chris]

Well i have cancer found in the lymph nodes. No primary has been found but they THINK it was of breast origin. Apparently this is very rare and called an occult tumour. They think there was a small tumour in the breast that possibly died but before it did it seeded into the lymph. All scans (CT mammo and MRI) cannot find a tumour in the breast... My friend a retired and senior breast consultant said he could count on the fingers of one hand the number of cases he had seen like this - but it does happen! So i have a secondary that is bigger than the primary..i could feel this in the axilla  but nothing at all shows or can be felt in the breast,. Good luck. Dont be frightened of making a fuss, there is more to be frightened of in ignoring it.