Breast lumps; negative mammo

[gdeniseg]

I am a 32 year old female. I felt a pea size lump in my right breast a couple of months ago (I can still feel it).  So, I went to my gynecologist and he did a breast exam and he also felt that  lump in my breast and he also felt a lumpy area in another part of the same breast.  He felt like it was new onset of fibrocystic disease.  But he was concerned enough to send me for a bilateral mammogram (with magnification views of one area)followed by bilateral ultrasound.  I just got my results and I found out that both studies were completely negative.  Neither cystic nor solid lesions were seen.  
My question is why can my doctor & I feel these lumps but they do not show up on mammo or ultrasound?   Is that common?
My gynecologist wants to see me back in two months for another clinical exam.  Is this the correct course of action?  
Should I go to a breast specialist or just trust these results?

Thanks for your valuable service.  Denise

[rkmsim]

Obviously you are not comfortable with what your doctors are telling you.  Insist on a biopsy for your own piece of mind.  If it is negative, great!  If not, then at least you know you took the action you needed to do for yourself and caught the problem earlier than it would have been caught.  If I am not satisfied with what my doctors recommend, then I go with my own "gut" feeling and follow through on that.

[BCD]

I am a 33 year old female and I found a lump in my breast a couple of months ago.  My doctor confirmed the lump and sent me for a sonogram.  The sonogram was negative for anything, could not even see the lump and said everything looked normal.  I am concerned because everything does not FEEL normal.  8 months ago I had a hysterectomy due to a mass that was growing on my ovary and the growth could not be suppressed (I was left with one ovary, but they took the other and my uterus).  The mass was benign.  My concern is that they do not seem to be able to rule this mass in my breast as anything at all.  My doctor said it could be Fibrocystic Breast Disease, but from what I have read, that disease is typically involves both breasts and my other breast is normal.  Over the past couple of months the mass is definitely more noticeable... Do I do a biopsy or do I wait to see if it grows?

[rkmsim]

One more - "go with your gut" response.  My 80 year old mother pointed out a breast lump in January 2002.  Her doctor sent her for a mammogram and ultrasound and both were clear.  She repeatedly told him that it seemed like it was getting larger.  Finally, in November 2002, the doctor repeated the mammogram.  By then she had a 2.5cm tumor.  Unfortunately, I didn't know about all of this at the time because I would have insisted on a biopsy back in January when she first felt the lump.  Both of her sisters died of cancer, her aunt died of ovarian cancer and I have had bilateral bc and am BRCA1+.  You have to be your health advocate.

[dammie]

I ditto Robins, "go with your gut".  I, too, was diagnosed with breast cancer after a "normal" mammo and even a "normal" sono after finding a lump at age 41.  Thank God, I had sense enough to not listen to those tests and went with my gut to have it biopsied.  That was 2 years ago.  Go to a breast specialist and have it evaluated.  The only true way to know what it is, is to have it biopsied.  Good luck.

[robins]

i was 44 years old when i felt a small lump but had a negative mammo-this was 2 1/2 years ago-the sonogram showed something in the spot where i felt something-the MRi also showed something-i then proceeded to have a biopsy which confirmed Breast Cancer-go with your gut feeling--
i still dont understand why doctors do not recommend yearly sonograms-we all know that mammos are not 100% effective and that sonos show what we feel--we must alert all the women that we know to get a yearly mammo and 6 months later go for a sono-EVEN IF YOU DO NOT FEEL ANYTHING-why take a chance--besides there is no radiation involved in sonograms
SPREAD THE WORD-it saved my life

[CCF-RN,MSN-rf]

Dear Denise:  Whether or not additional investigation is needed depends upon the level of suspicion based on the clinical breast examination and your level of comfort.  If a lump is palpable (can be felt), a needle biopsy could be done.  Since neither of the other examinations indicate suspicion, your doctor may feel comfortable enough to monitor for 2 months and take action based on another clinical examination.  If you are worried, please discuss this with your doctor.  Also, you could consider a second opinion with a breast specialist. These can usually be located at large academic teaching institutions.