If your doctor finds a lump in your breast, what happens next?

Question

and next? and next?

Answer 1

The answer depends a lot on your own personal medical history, but in general:
1. You'll have either a mammogram, an ultrasound, or an aspiration done. Mammograms and ultrasounds are just imaging techniques. An aspiration involves taking a fine needle and sticking it into the lump to see if it's solid or liquid. If it's liquid,it will probably disappear during this procedure and not come back. This is a benign cyst: the most common type of breast lump. They'll check to make sure the liquid doesn't have any bad stuff like blood in it, then probably send you away and ask you to come in in a few months to make sure it hasn't come back.
2. If it's solid, they will take a sample of the cells called a biopsy, and send it off to the lab to determine what kind of cells they are. If they are noncancerous and your mammogram looked okay, you're in the clear... if they were cancerous or precancerous, the doc will refer you to a surgeon for further work.

Answer 2

I went to the doctor and he found a lump in my left breast (I'm 22 now, was I think 19 at the time). I went back for a second evluation, they didn't do a mamogram, he just asked me a bunch of questions, felt around and basically told me the lump was there because I drank too many cokes. I was supposed to stop, but I haven't so the lump hasn't gone away. it doesn't bother me or give me any problems.

Answer 3

They may want to do a sonogram of the breast...then a biopsy. Depending on the results of the biopsy, they may recommend surgery...after removing the lump, they will continue to test the mass to determine as conclusively as they can whether or not it is cancerous. If it is, they may want to perform another surgery to remove any remaining cancerous tissue.

Answer 4

You get a mammogram, and then a biopsy of the lump.