Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Breast Cancer (Expert Forum)
Second Opinion on Pathology?
Answered by
Cleveland Clinic - Breast cancer
Cleveland - OH
Questions posted in the Breast Cancer Forum are answered by medical professionals from The Cleveland Clinic. Topics include Breast Biopsy, Chemotherapy, Hormone Therapy, Lumps, Lumpectomy, Lymph node dissection, Lymphedema, Mammograms, Mastectomy, Radiation Therapy, Reconstruction, Self Breast Exam, and Surgery.
Second Opinion on Pathology?
by kgoodfl, Mar 05, 2009 01:58PM
I have had several biopsies. One of the more recent - about a year and a half ago - they found a "4 suspicious" lump on ultrasound that did not look like a cyst or fibroadenoma - I have some minimal training and the radiologist told me this as well. After core biopsy the pathology said "fibroadenoma - no atypia". The report was extremely brief noting no history, no reason for the biopsy or note of the US result. There was no gross or microscopic description. To me, this seemed like a rushed abbreviated pathology. I am thinking that I need a second opinion on this - what do you think? I have since had a second biopsy in the same area - open excision - the surgeon thought it didn't look good and had a frozen section done and marked it for margin eval. Pathology came back - duct ectasia, apocrine metaplasia, adenosis, perilobular fibrosis. No atypia, no malignancy. This was a fast growing palpable lump that grew to about 2cm by 1 cm in 3 months. I'm still nervous about the original spot - the surgeon tried to get at it with needle localization but was unsuccessful. I also have two new lumps in the other breast. He said they "feel benign". One is 1 oclock above the nipple - same area as the other side but feels different and the other one is to the side a little and feels tubular. He seems unconcerned about any of this but he is a general surgeon not a breast specialist and I'm not sure if that makes a difference. My Mom had a double mastectomy at age 32 (wasn't told what type of cancer) and is now still OK.
Doctor's Answer
by Cleveland Clinic, Mar 05, 2009 03:33PM
, Mar 05, 2009 03:33PM
Dear kgoodfl, You may want to discuss your concerns regarding the reported results with your surgeon who could address them in context of your individual situation. If you are still concerned a second opinion on the pathology is an option for you, and your surgeon again may help in terms of where to have them sent for review, or to a large acedemic center. None of the information that you have provided regarding the pathology on the second indicates malignancy. Again if you are concerned you may want to pursue a second opinion with a breast specialist, these are generally associated with large acedemic institutions.
