Ill-defined mass BI-RAD 4

[Jillianna]

Hi Everyone,

I went to my OB about a week and a half ago after finding a lump in my right breast. I've been through this before (benign cyst) so I was not surprised when I was sent for an ultrasound 2 days later. My ultrasound results came back as a BI-RAD 4 with an "ill-defined area of heterogeneous hypoechogenicity with acoustic shadowing." I didn't know what any of that meant until I started looking up the meanings of each word and how they correlate to both benign and malignant tumors. I'm not one to self diagnose or get stressed but I am really scared right now. I have a core biopsy scheduled on Wednesday but I'm wondering if anyone has had a similar experience and how your biopsy results came back. I'm a single mom, 32 years old with no history of cancer in my family. I know what statistics say but I am so worried...

Thank you,

Jill

[Jillianna]

Zouzi,

Thank you for thinking of me. It went better than I expected. I hardly felt any pain at all. They took 4 samples and said they would call either Friday or Monday. I do feel a lot better after talking to the surgeon. She was extremely gentle and very reassuring.

I will let you know what she says. Thank you again!

[zouzi]

You are welcome Jillianna!
I hope your biopsy procedure went well yesterday and please let us know about the results when you'll receive them within a week or even less.
Wishing you benign findings...

[Jillianna]

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. You're so right. It's nice to hear from someone who is not from my close circle. It's easy to get worked up over these things because your mind starts working overtime. I know the stats are definitely on my side and I am hopeful for a healthy diagnosis. It's scary to read those words and not think there is a possibility. Thank you again!

[zouzi]

Hi Jill,
Well,there are a variety of "benign" breast lesions that exhibit posterior acoustic shadowing on Ultrasound.However,when a finding is ill defined,it becomes questionable because it indicates that it is probably not a simple cyst and a biopsy is always recommended for a definite diagnosis.
A BIRADS category 4 means that the lump in your breast is just suspicious but nothing more than that, and it doesn't necessarily mean that it is malignant.
I wish I could tell you more to alleviate your fear,but keep in mind that a high percentage of breast lumps with a BIRADS score 4, turn out to be negative when biopsied... so the stats are on your side.
Wishing you all the best and I hope everything turns out well for you :)