Facing a biopsy...and scared to death.

[irishchicka]

I recently had my first mammogram, and (as I suspected) there were abnormalities that required an ultrasound guided spot compression mammogram.  I was there for two hours and several "step in's" from the radiologist.  He suggested that I have biopsies on both breasts.  On the right, there is a "abnormality" of three bubbles that appeared black in the ultrasound that the radiologist said was likely a grouping of benign cysts, but a biopsy was warranted.  On the left, there is a 1+ centimeter bubble that if it was a cyst (according to the radiologist) would appear black on ultrasound, but showed white with manipulation.  He said it would be "unsafe not to biopsy".  There is no history of breast cancer in my family, but my mom and several aunts have a history of fibrocystic breasts.  Frankly, I'm scared to death.  I feel like I could have a ticking timebomb on my chest.  My question is this, the size of the "bubble" seemed to warrant a bit of concern, but it was the white showing up that seemed to drive the radiologist to say it needed biopsied.  I work in the medical field, in plastic and reconstructive surgery and we do breast reconstructions every week, so maybe I'm just hyper-aware.  The size of the 'bubble' seemed to be the greatest concern.  Does the white showing through the manipulation in ultrasound indicate a tumor or something as benign as calcium deposits (that my aunt was diagnosed with)?  I'd like to get others opinions because right now, as I said, I'm scared to death.

[zouzi]

Hi,
First of all try not to panic.I know it's hard not to worry,but often things are not as bad as we think they are.
Fibrocystic breast condition is quite common and often runs in families.There is no correlation between fibrocystic changes and breast cancer.There are some variations in breast tissue that create a predisposition to breast cancer, but this is rare.
What you have,according to your mammogram and ultrasound findings could very well be cysts in your right breast,and maybe a solid tumor called a fibroadenoma in your left breast that warrants a biopsy,simply because it's solid and looks lobulated ,meaning that the circumference of the nodule has some degree of irregularity...sort of wavy.Fibroadenomas or other benign lumps can sometimes look similar.
I don't think the "white" that was detected, represents calcification,because your radiologist would have told you if that was the case,since the mammogram test would have clearly shown it.
Please keep in mind that a high percentage of lumps found in the breasts are not malignant and when they are biopsied they often result in benign findings.
There is no sure way of knowing in advance what these lumps in your breasts may represents.Your radiologist is being cautious and wants to be absolutely sure by performing a biopsy, which is the only way to achieve a correct diagnosis.
Please let us know how things are proceeding and hoping that there is nothing serious there.
Wishing you all the best...

[irishchicka]

There is a slightly dense parenchymal pattern on the left and a moderately dense breast parenchymal pattern on the right.  In the left breast, there is a circumscribed 17mm nodule which appears to be bilobulated in the 7 o'clock region approximately 9cm from the nipple.  There is a 2nd area of interest and possible reinform nodule in the 2 o'clock region of the right breast.  In the right breast, there is a multilobulated reniform nodule in the 4 o'clock region of the right breast.  There is a partially circumscribed reniform nodule approximately 13 cm from the nipple.