Breast Density Questions

hi there...i was wondering if anyone can answer a few questions regarding breast density and breast cancer...i've been reading about it, but i am still a little confused...

my breasts have been progressively getting more dense since 2001 (approx. 25%), according to my radiologist...he has been watching one particular area for a year...it has changed, but only in conjunction with the increase of density as the rest of my breast and the other one...he went to do a core biopsy on this one area six months ago, but found no target area...he said he could do an mri to check for blood flow, to ease my mind, but that there was no way to tell if it was lobular cancer unless i had a mastectomy...is this correct? holey camoley...

anyway, i am going to have the mri, but when i go to research breast density and it's link to breast cancer, all i'm coming up with is that it has been shown to increase ones chances of getting it, due to the inability of being able to see tumors through dense tissue...it also says that it has been found to be hereditary, and can't be controlled through diet, excersise, etc...is this also true?

AND, it doesn't say what makes a breast grow dense tissue to begin with? is growing dense tissue (glandular) cancer in its earliest stages? i'm 44 and am discouraged at the lack of testing and knowledge about this density issue...there's no breast cancer in my family for at least 4 generations, and i think one grandmother has dense breasts...there IS bone cancer a generation away from me...does that mean i am more prone to breast cancer, or are they two different cancer genes?

sorry to ask so many questions...if anyone could help, i'd appreciate it! much thanks, harriet

no...but i was on birth control for about ten years in my early twenties...(and, i don't plant on taking any hormones through menopause)...harriet

thank you so much, tim...harriet

">> > i'm 44 and am
Your discouraged, I was diagnosed at age 40 with ER/PR neg breast cancer, and the majority of research is geared at hormonal therapy something that my cancer won't react to!

i'm so sorry...

of this, so i really appreciate you telling me of your story...

If it can prevent one person from having to deal with what I have had to go through it is the least I can do at this time. I should not have been where I am. I did all the 'right' stuff--regular mammo's and regular self-checks. As
I have said before that system wasn't good enough to have worked for me;
hopefully, others won't have those same problems.

<< i never know if i am being paranoid and overreacting, or if it really is something...my belief is better safe than sorry (even if i make myself crazy sometimes)...

Understandable, and the frustrating part is that one never does know. Even if the stats are on your side, there is that lesser % who don't follow the majority--so even though the odds may be on the good side, someone fits those negative odds...hopefully, though, it isn't 'you.'
Best of luck with your mri. Hope all turns out to be of no concern. Take care and all the best! {{{Hugs}}}

thank you...i know it must be difficult speaking about all of this, so i really appreciate you telling me of your story...

i never know if i am being paranoid and overreacting, or if it really is something...my belief is better safe than sorry (even if i make myself crazy sometimes)...

i will have my mri thursday, and take it one step at a time...thanks again, harriet

ipscabible wrote<< can you tell me how your nipple changed? >>

10 days after I experienced a burning sensation in the upper chest area I saw a change in my nipple. I should add that 2 days after that burning sensation my breast began to ache. I immediately thought of a rare type of breast cancer that I had only recently heard about (inflammatory b.c.) which a friend was suspected of possibly having after she had experienced pain in her breast about
4 mos. before. I told myself not to be ridiculous or paranoid, so I didn't dwell on that--it just crossed my mind.
At first my nipple just looked different--couldn't even figure out quite how it looked different--it just did. That triggered a memory of my mother-in-law. She was dx'd with a malignant brain tumor 2 weeks after my husband and I were married. 5 mos. later, while in the hospital, her dr. mentioned that her nipple was 'inverted.' I recall it looking 'different' but not quite inverted. She was given further tests and redx'd with breast cancer that metastasized to her brain.
So, when I saw my nipple looking 'different' I couldn't help but recall that memory. Then it looked even more different the next day and then even worse after that. What was taking place was that the nipple was sinking into the aereola at a fairly fast rate.
So, in addition to being dx'd with lobular b.c. and high grade dcis, I also had a separate tumor in the nipple with dermal lymphatic invovlement--a rarer presentation of inflammatory breast cancer. My nipple continued to change daily until my bilateral mastectomy--23 days after biopsy and 28 days after I first noted the difference.

oh yeah...did your density appear suddenly and then continue to grow? thx!

thank you, kaye...i've decided to go ahead and have the mri this week...

can you tell me how your nipple changed? i've had a dark spot on it, that obgyns have been telling me is a broken blood vessel, for 20 years...

also, are mris conclusive for lobular? and, did the breast feel any different?
i've been having a bit of pain that i've been attributing to my positioning at my computer all day..

Harriet wrote << .he said he could do an mri to check for blood flow, to ease my mind, but that there was no way to tell if it was lobular cancer unless i had a mastectomy...is this correct? holey camoley...sorry to ask so many questions...if anyone could help, i'd appreciate it! much thanks, harriet

Hi Harriet, sorry you are dealing with all this. As someone who has/had lobular I can tell you that I had a thickening in my breast that was biopsied.
However, initially, when I showed that area to my dr. he had reminded me that my last mammogram (done a few weeks before had been normal). The 'thickened' area I felt was first noted within days of that last supposed normal mammo. I thought the area might have been bruised or there was some tissue damage that resulted from the compression of that last mammo This was in my upper chest area, almost above my breast. 9 mos later my nipple began to change. That was not near the thickening that I felt. I saw a surgeon who biopsied that thickened area, and it was found to be invasive lobular. Thus, lobular can be biopsied.
However, lobular does have a different presentation. I opted for a bilateral mastectomy afterwards. My only regret was that it wasn't done immediately rather than 23 days after that biopsy. However, that was because in addition to the lobular I had 2 other types of cancer (in one breast) and they were aggressive. In addition by that time there was also lymph node involvement and extensive lymphovascular invasion.
My case was NOT the norm, though. My suggestion to you is to get a second opinion at a cancer center if at all possible--such as might be found at a university hospital. Hopefully what you have going on is not of concern. Take care and wishing you all the best!