Multiple surgical biopsies - Cancer: Breast Message Board

skipormary · 11-16-2006, 08:53 PM

I need to know if it is the norm for a woman who has had lumpy breasts all her life and had them basically ignored by her physician to suddenly be sent to a surgeon and have the surgeon (probably for his own financial gain) to recommend multiple surgical biopsies be performed on both breasts at the same time under local anesthetic as an outpatient? He wanted to biopsy every lump in both breasts. No other options such as needle biopsies or further ultrasounds were offered. I had had one ultrasound two or three years before this. Also I want to say there was nothing new or suspicious on my last mammogram. This sounds quite drastic to me and everybody I have talked to about it. I do not believe this is the standard of care most women with health insurance receive from private physicians. A breast imaging center with whom I discussed this matter told me to get a second opinion. The clinic where I saw this surgeon tried to coerce me into having this procedure done by telling me this is what they recommend to every woman whom they see that has any kind of lump or lumps. I do not believe this and if they are trying to do surgery on every patient they can, they need to be stopped. I realize that biopsy can be a very useful tool, but this is completely unreasonable and ridulous. Also they downplayed the seriousness and pain of having all these lumps cut out at once and acted like it was nothing. Also, I don't believe they would even give you any pain medication after cutting you up like that either. Any insight and advice on this matter will be greatly appreciated.+

anna317 · 11-17-2006, 11:23 AM

I would definitely seek another opinion! Doctors do tend to do a lot of surgeries these days, some times due to liability, some times for money in their pockets. You as a patient should take charge of your health and really do the research before you can trust any body. In your case definitely some imaging needs to be done before anybody would talk about surgery, especially multiple.

skipormary · 11-17-2006, 05:28 PM

Thank you so much for taking the time to post and for your advice. I should have also stated that I do not have a family history of breast cancer. This was a free clinic for uninsured people and I believe it is part of the my state's breast and cervical cancer screening program. I contacted them after this happened and they went right along with the notion that every woman with any kind or amount of breast lumps should have them all cut out. Being without insurance or even a physician at this time, I would be at the mercy of this program's doctors, should I try to go through them to get a second opinion. Also the nurse who tried to coerce me into having this surgery might possibly have been deliberately lying to me about them recommending such a drastic procedure to all women with lumpy breasts just to try to talk me into it. Either way, this clinic is doing something very wrong. Either unnecessary surgery, or lying and coercing patients.
Mary

ncyky · 11-19-2006, 12:38 PM

Please don't do it! I currently have several benign tumors and cysts in both breasts. One of the lumps was biopsied 2 1/2 years ago during my pregnancy because the lump had grown larger rather quickly, within a 6 month period. It was just another fibroadenoma and had gotten larger as a result of my pregnancy. This past Friday, I just had 2 more biopsies on both breasts. One new lump and one old lump had gotten bigger. These are believed to benign also. I have no family history of breast cancer, but nowadays that doesn't mean much. You can still get breast cancer without having the risks. I have to get a breast ultrasound every 6 months because I for some reason keep getting these tumors and most of them have not been biopsied just watched carefully. They don't need to be removed as this will only cause so much scaring that it will make it difficult to read future ulstrasounds. You can read any book or internet and most lumps are not removed unless they are going to interfere with your body. If your doctor was so concerned he should have asked you to get a biopsy 2-3 years ago as the lumps appeared. To get them all biopsied now is just crazy. Find another doctor!

skipormary · 11-23-2006, 05:52 PM

Thank you so much for your input. I have no intention of letting this surgeon carve me up like that. I am just trying to find out what the normal course of treatment--I should say diagnosis--should be. I may be wrong, but I truly believe this surgeon and the state screening program are pushing poor, uninsured women into unnecessary biopsies that somebody--probably the taxpayers--are having to pay for. If not, then they lied to me in order to talk me into this procedure. Many doctors over the years have felt these lumps and nothing was ever said about them. I am checking into getting another opinion, but it is through the state screening program and if they try to tell me to get all these lumps surgically removed, I will tell them where to go. I just don't want other women to be subjected to this gross incompetence or greed, whichever it is.

Mary