Jessica,
What a scary time for you.
If they want to do an open biopsy, you would want to ask the doctor how
they are going to localize the mass, and where they are going to put the
incision, and how much they are going to remove. Usually they localize
small masses by placing a wire in the lesion stereotactically (under
ultrasound or x-ray), and then cut along the wire until they reach the
end of the wire. Some docs remove the mass, others remove the mass and
the entire wedge of breast containing the wire, which is of course more
destructive. For larger masses, the surgeon is often able to find it
without a wire. Needle biopsies are often done stereotactically, to
make sure that the correct area is sampled.
If the needle biopsy shows the mass is cancerous, and you choose a
lumpectomy, they will remove a minimum one inch margin all around the
mass, check your lymph nodes in the armpit area, and give you radiation
to that breast to ensure that no atypical cells are left. If the lymph
nodes are positive for cancer cells, then chemo is done instead, because
it targets the whole body. Dr. Jack Newman says it is possible to
continue breastfeeding during chemo, discontinuing for a few days after
each treatment to allow the drugs to leave the milk so as not to expose
the rapidly growing baby.
There are lots of possibilities that are harmless, I'll be praying that
your lump is a lipoma (benign fatty tumor) or fibroadenoma (benign solid
tumor). The fact that your mass is moveable and not fixed increases the
chance that it is benign.
Please do keep us posted.
Catherine Watson Genna, IBCLC NYC
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