lump on right breast

[knights]

I had a mammogram this week.  it reads 1.46 cm irregular hypechoic mass which is a carcinoma until proven otherwise. a core biopsy is advised.
Category 5. Highly suggestive of malignancy- appropiate action should be taken.
I am 73 years old I can feel the lump on the bottom of my right breast. It feels hard and kind of like a chord I discovered this 3 weeks ago. I had a breast exam 3 months ago and nothing was felt. based on the size could it be this was caught early?
I also have been taking premarin for many years.  My questions are how likely is this to be cancer.  could it be a fibroid tumor or is that unlikely?  Should I start lining up a oncologist what should I expect?

[katarina777]

No, they are not cancerous.

[knights]

thanks for your response. Are fibbrodemos usually cancerous?

[katarina777]

PS: I meant to say radiation Oncologist, not surgeon, near the bottom.

Also, and I don't know much about this, but there is a cancer that is more rare and it feels like you describe, a cording. )maybe someone else can help about this)  Kat

[katarina777]

Hi, your lesion is very likely, very, very likely, cancer. A category 5 just doesn't get any higher, but then it may still not be.

What makes me wonder is that you lump grew this fast, and which is more likely to happen with fibradenomas, etc.

I think the next step will be for you to meet with a surgeon or a radiologist who will do yout biopsy, and I also highly recommend you do that. The risk of not doing it is just too great!

The samples will then be studied by a pathologist who writes a report about the nature, quality, size, and other characteristics of your tumor. you will know a few days after the biopsy a lot more, and if it's cancer, a lot more about your particular cancer.

It may be feeding of estrogen and this would mean that you would have to get off the premarin and likely even take an estrogen antagonist, which will help keep the estrogen away from the cancer. or your doctor may just decide to go off the premarin.

depening on thbe kind of the cancer, and it's severity, you may, or may not be referred to a medical oncologist, and even a radiation oncolgist, at which time chemotherapy and surgery would be addressed. yet, the first step is usually surgeon, and I really advise you, if possible, to see an experienced breast surgeon. maybe all you will need  if this turns out to be cancer, is a mastectomy, and the operation sounds much more scary than it is.

Good luck, and I am sorry, and hopefully someone else will respond to you also.  KAT