small lump in my breast

[redhatkathie]

I have a small 3mmX5mm lump in the upper outer quadrant of my rt.breast, verified by 2 mammograms in March and November.  I have family history of breast cancer and also had HRT for 20 yrs. until age of 65.  I was told by my GYN that I should wait a month to see if the lump changes, but I'm worried and would like a consult by a surgeon and maybe have the lump removed or needle aspirated.  What would be your opinion?
Thanks for your help.

[DrBhumikaMD]

Hi,
Yes thats the point. Sooner or later it is better to know for sure. The partial knowledge of an undiagnosed lesion is difficult to handle. The biopsy procedure is a safe procedure so you dont have to worry much. At every step discuss in detail with your physician as to what he thinks is best and what are the options that you have and only then decide. Goodluck.

[redhatkathie]

Thanks for your comment--you make me feel much better.  I am thinking I will ask for a referral to the surgeon and ask for a biopsy.  A definitive diagnosis is much better than waiting and wondering (at least for me).  

[bhumi123]

Hi,
A family history of breast cancer alonwith a history of HRT put you at a greater risk for breast cancer. But that still does not mean the lump you have is malignant. What you should do is keep a track of any change in size or any associated features like discharge etc. What can be done is that you get a USG done which will give you a clearer picture as to what type of lump it is. You could follow your specialists' suggestion and wait for another month or you could in fact go ahead and discuss with your surgeon that you need a surgical excision biopsy. That would remove the lump and also give definite diagnosis after pathologic examination of the excised tissue. This would make it absolutely certain whether the lump was benign or malignant. Goodluck.