Still worried about my breast

[sallie05]

Hi. I write a couple of weeks ago concerning the results of my ultrasound. I had one performed by a radiologist at a breast center on the upper outer quadrant of my right breast. My Gyn had felt a small (1.5) cm nodule. He told me he felt it was nothing but to have it checked anyway. The Rad. said that it was nothing and she noted me to have fibrocystic changes on my report. I told my friend who is just begining her career as an internist and she really questioned why they didn't do a biospy. I called my Gyn and he agreed that if I was worried I could go and see a surgeon. I just want to know, if the rad. felt that it was necessary she would have told me to get a biopsy, right. I am 28 years old and just very worried but I hope its nothing. I know U/s aren't always 100% but wouldn't she have been able to tell if it was something suspicious with an U/S? My Gyn said after looking at the u/s he did see a mass but really thought it was benign. I just want some other opinions but I am going to the surgeon just to double check. Thanks

[montena]

I had a small pimple like spot appear on my left breast around the on the areaola. It was very small and had a small puss like center that burst and started to itch and I just thought that maybe it was an insect bite of some type.  It's been two months now and it has doubled in size and now has a crust like layer of skin that itches continually and I just keep hydrocortizone cream on it and it is dark brown in color and sort of bothersome. Not painful and no other discomfort other than I noticed I have had swollen breasts and sore breast during my last two cycles that I have never had before...Should I bring this concern up to my obgyn? Or am I over reacting over an insect bite? Thanks!

[CCF-RN,MSN-rf]

Dear Sallie05:  An ultrasound is best at differentiating between solid and cystic (fluid-filled) structures.  A radiologist, however, would have an expert opinion on whether a density looked suspicious.  But an ultrasound is not a diagnostic test.  If there is a lump there that you are worried about, it may be in your best interest to see a breast specialist or a surgeon for evaluation.

[surgeon]

Breasts are lumpy, and the lumpiness isn't evenly distributed, so it's a very common thing to feel a "lump" and note it in some way. How far to go to decipher it depends on many things, including how it  feels to an expert, and how worried the owner is. I've said a million times that when a lump is feelable you get lots more info from the five seconds it takes to insert a small needle, than from any imaging study. That said, it's also true that most lumps which are cancer show up fairly distinctly differently from regular lumpiness on ultrasound.