I think I have paget's disease

[er_nurse]

I am 36. I developed a red, raised, scaly itchy area around my right nipple approx. 4 months ago. I saw my doc, had a negative mammogram. she said it was probably eczema or dermatitis and prescribed a topical ointment. two months later I returned to her office. The area is still there. She finally agreed to do a biopsy. However, she did a punch biopsy at the edge of the areola, not near the nipple where the skin is inflammed. It has been 11 days since the biopsy and I am still waiting for results. I have called her office and they keep saying they don't have them back yet. I am going nuts waiting. I was convinced the results would be negative since she didn't do the problematic area. Now, after 11 days, I am beginning to wonder. I know paget's disease is rare. Perhaps, the pathologist is still trying to diagnose what he sees as abnormal cells.
Have you heard of a pathology result taking so long?
also, I really don't think I will be relieved if the results are negative since she avoided the nipple area. What is my next step in getting this resolved? Should I insist on another biopsy?
The area is only getting larger. Now it is covered with white flaking and continues to itch like crazy. I have also developed breast tenderness under the nipple area. I had a hyst 13 years ago and have not taken HRT for 10 years. Previously, the only time my breasts hurt were during pregnancy.
Please help if you can. At least validate my concerns. If it is cancer, I want to know and start treatment. I don't want to be misdiagnosed for several years.

Thank you,
Sherry

[CCF-RN,MSN-rf]

Dear Sherry:  It is possible for pathology reports to take a while.  It depends, of course, on where it is being done.  At the local hospital or are they sending it out.  Also, various stains can take additional time.  If the biopsy should come back negative and this area is not resolving with topical eczema treatments, then another opinion, and possibly biopsy, may be warranted.  In the meantime, you could ask her office to make a call to the pathology department or you could consider calling yourself.

[Rubes2]

I know nothing about paget's, but I too had an abnormally long wait for a biopsy report from a major research hospital. In the end, when I got the FULL written report from my oncologist I discovered that the lab had called preliminary findings into the surgeon days before they had an interim report (which is when I got my call). It seems that they knew I had cancer, but were having trouble determining if it was lobular or ductal, and hence the holdup. I have to say that at that moment, I didn't really care what kind of cancer I had, and I was pretty angry at my surgeon! You might consider speaking to your doctor rather than the office staff, adn ask if there are or if s/he can call for preliminary results. Good luck to you!!!