Repeat Biospy

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After discovering during my MRI that the marker from the biopsy of my left breast didn’t actually sample the suspicious tissue, my surgeon ordered a follow-up biopsy. The radiologist who did the MRI recommended a mammogram guided biopsy. The first biopsy was done by ultrasound. My surgeon also ordered a scan of my left axillary area to check on the lymph nodes in that area as that is where the cancer tends to spread first.  

The imaging appointment was with a radiologist I had not worked with before and it did not go as I expected. Rather than a guided mammogram biopsy, another ultrasound guided biopsy was done, and I never received a scan of my left axillary area. I left that appointment feeling really confused and frustrated.  

The appointment was on July 2nd and because of the holiday weekend, the results didn’t arrive until July 8th. And for the second time, the biopsy missed the tumor in my left breast. By the end of the day after receiving this discouraging news, my oncologist and surgeon had connected and jointly came up with a plan that we all felt good about and one that wouldn't delay my surgery date. 

So, the new plan involved having the left axillary ultrasound at the same appointment where I would have my “seed placement” done. Yeah, up until a month ago, I didn’t know what a “seed placement” was either!  

Seed placement is also known as radioactive seed localization (RSL). It is a technique used in breast surgery to pinpoint the exact location of a tumor. The seed (about the size of a sesame seed) helps the surgeon precisely locate and remove the tumor and minimizes the removal of healthy tissue.   

With surgery scheduled for July 18th, the plan is to remove the tumor in my right breast and do a sentinel lymph node biopsy on the right side which involves identifying and removing the first few lymph nodes that drain fluid from the breast. The surgeon will also remove the pesky tumor in the left breast during surgery and will run the pathology after removal. If it turns out the tumor in the left breast is also cancerous, then a sentinel lymph node biopsy will also be done on the left side.  

It feels like it has taken forever to get to this point and despite all the many appointments, scans and tests, in some ways it feels like things are just getting started. 

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