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Avatar universal

Need a few prayers tomorrow (Friday)

I had a mammo on Dec 4th, and on Wed got a nastygram from the radiologist that I have an abnormality that needs furtuer evaluation. To please call PCP for info. So I called. It seems I have aleft breast lump/nodule. I am having an ultrasound tomorrow.

The thing that upsets me the most is that the letter the radiologist sent to my PCP STATES THERE IS NO CHANGE IN SIZE OF THE LUMP FROM THE PAST THREE YEARS!!!!    WTF! I have received letters every year stating nothing seen! They have NEVER mentioned a nodule or lump. So how can it still be unchanged, yet now they want to do an ultrasound? Does this sound fishy to anyone but me?  I asked my PCP's nurse to look back on her reports for any mention of this. She said it was NOT mentioned. And that certainly my dr would have told me about it.

One of the downsides to living in a small town, is this is the only place in town to have it done. If they want to do anything more after the ultrasound, I will bite the bullett, and go to Portland, Or where they have a very large complex of doctors and hospitals. I do not trust the local hospitals or radiologists much, since the radiologist reading my husbands cat scans missed his lung and lymph node cancer 3 weeks before the brain tumors paralyzed his right side. By then of course it was too late to do anything. Time for a bonfire Quix!

So this further example of them trying to CYA has me very upset.  All prayers appreciated. While you are at the praying, how about 70* weather instead of the 3* I have right now? LOL

Maggie
8 Responses
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147426 tn?1317265632
Maggie, I am horrified!  The only redeeming thing about this is that - if you have a lump - it is not growing.  Over a three year peroid that is really good news, and implies that whatever it is is retty benign.  However, if it is true and you were not advised about it, it is the radiologist's worst nightmare.  It is the definition of radiology malpractice.

And, of course, this all occurs on a Friday!  (Murphy was an optimist)

"Getting the patient upset" is not among the concerns in accurately reading imaging tests!  Can anyone spell CYA?

If you have something like fibrocystic disease it can play h*ll with accurately reading mammos, but still.  If there is suspicion you INVESTIGATE IT with an ultrasound or something.

I am so sorry you had to go through this, but someone needs to be hung by their sensitive parts!

Quix
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Prayers are wonderful, and so are you all. The ultrasound found one 4x8cm cyst, and also a cluster of cysts. But it didn't find any with fuzzy edges, or any with blood in them, which can be a sign of cancer. Praise the Lord. After the ultrasound, I spoke with a radiologist. NOT the one who had been reading my mammos. He showed me where the one showed on my mammo this year. He also found it on previous year's mammos, but said it was indistinct, since it lays right along side a band of dense tissue. He said he "assumed" since the other radiologist diddn't think it was a cancerous lesion, he just didn't want to "get me upset" by mentioning it. Year, right, that's what I thought too, lol.

At least now I know I have cysts, I will make sure each year they check on their size, change of appearance, etc.  One more thing to add to my list of things to stay on top of each year.

Still cold 14*, snow expected tomorrow, and I have to work.bummer.

Maggie
Will be nice to have some overtime on paycheck day before Christmas tho....but have to work x-mas too!!
Helpful - 0
739070 tn?1338603402
You will be in my thoughts and prayers regarding the lump, the radiologist report and the procedure.
Raekay is right in encouraging you to stay positive. Twopack also makes a very good point about a different radiologist reviewing the same films and seeing things others missed.

Thinking of you,
Ren
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Prayers to you from central Cali.  I would be fuming and stamping my feet in the Dr office to find out where this misinformation generated.  

That is so scary and frustrating for you and I am sorry.  I will pray everything is great and that your journey to answers is a short one.  

Blessings to you
D
Helpful - 0
405614 tn?1329144114
Prayers on the way!  Hugs, too.

I wonder if this is a new radiologist to the practice?  Maybe he saw something that previous radiologists didn't, and just compared it to prior tests, not reading their reports.  Or he could be a total dufus, like the guys at OHSU that thought a blood vessel next to my spine was a lesion in my spinal cord.

Regardless, I'm glad you're going to get the ultrasound.  I'm hoping and praying that it will turn out to be nothing to worry about.  If you feel uncomfortable with their findings, by all means come to Portland.  My sister has had a lumpectomy here, and is perfectly fine; didn't need radiation or chemo.  My roommate has had a few abnormal mammograms, but further testing showed that there was nothing to worry about.

Its been really cold here, too.  About 9* at night, and below freezing for highs until yesterday, when it hit a balmy 38* for a short while.  Tonight we're supposed to start with some snow, up to 3", then switch to freezing rain, for hours.  Only supposed to accumulate 1/4 inch of freezing rain, but on top of snow, it can be pretty nasty out.  It's supposed to hit 38* again tomorrow while raining, which I hope is warm enough to melt of the frozen rain and snow.  I did stock up on some groceries and stuff.

You're in my thoughts,

Kathy

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I'm sorry that you are having to go through this.  I was 34 yrs old when I went in last July to my PCP due to finding 2 lumps in my left breast and 1 in my right.  I have a strong family history of breast cancer.  She immediately sent me for a diagnostic mammo and ultrasound.  At that point they still weren't sure what they were so it was suggested that I have lumpectomies.  I had the lumpectomies in Aug 2008.  They ended up taking 5 specimens, 2 came back as inflammed and hardened lymphnodes and the other 3 were fatty nodules, both benign.  

Stay positive and know that when the docs are dealing with possible breast cancer they work quickly to get results in the best interest of the patient.  At least that was my experience.  I would advise that you get a second opinion from a well recommended and highly accredited facility.

Thinking about you!!!
Rachel
Helpful - 0
1045086 tn?1332126422
You'll be in our thoughts and prayers.  As you've done to this point, give yourself a few minutes for thoughtful consideration each step along the way.  You WILL know the best direction to take for yourself and whatever the situation is.

I don't know about the report but it sure seems that radiologists are a different type of visionary.  They too often see things that aren't there, miss things that are present, and basically seem to be more interpreters than translators.  And then we rarely meet these docs who are so influential in our health journey.

At least you have a direction for the moment.  If neither you nor your doctor have felt this lump in three years I'd be thinking it hasn't been there long or is verrrrrryyyyy slow growing.  So maybe the radiologist got distracted and/or wrapped up in "standard" phrases during his report dictation.  Not right - just a thought.  

Maybe that D.U.M.B. syndrome has infected another hospital department?
Helpful - 0
751951 tn?1406632863
I can't identify with the mammo issue (duh!) but I can surely recognize a radiologist's report that makes no sense.  I'd suggest demanding an explanation right from the horse's mouth (or the other end of the horse, as appropriate).

I'll acknowledge, though, that, after about a year, I am still waiting for that return call about those "post surgical changes" seen by a radiologist in the medial septal area of my maxillary sinuses.  Could he have possibly meant from my 1964 tonsillectomy?  My 1986 wisdom tooth extraction?  I know that I was sore from both right after the event, but come on, folks, how could the scalpel have possibly gotten from either of those locations to the maxillary sinuses, and the patient still be alive to read about it?  No one else has ever operated on any of my head, so...  Well, let's just say that erroneous information finds its way into reports all the time.  (We need only to watch the daily news to confirm that!)

Anyway, I will pray that there is a clear plan for dealing with whatever this event holds for you.

I'll be praying about the weather, too, as I will be doing a funeral this afternoon, including graveside ceremonies for a veteran, when the winds are supposed to be at their peak today.  Our current wind chill is 3 Farenheit degrees to the good side of zilch.

Look up Isaiah 41:10.
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