Radial Scar Diagnosis after Breast Biopsy - Any advice?

[Cratos]

Hi All,
At my follow up breast appointment this evening ( had core needle biopsy last week), I was told I have got Radial Scar. I need to research it. My meeting was a bit confusing but I think I may or may not need an MRI and/or Vacuum biopsy. Doctors will discuss and get back to me. But I will definitely need an operation. This mass is about 2cm. The consultant said they don't see cancer at the moment but also I think he mentioned there may be some precancerious cells or hiding cancer. My breasts are dense and that makes the diagnosis more difficult perhaps. If anybody knows about Radial scars please advise.

Apparently bigger masses are called complex sclerosing lesions.

Hello! I have a Radial Scar and you are right - they are very confusing and there is very little information out there!
I was diagnosed in 2018 after it was picked up on my first routine mammogram. They present just like a cancer on mammograms.

I was called back to the clinic, had a needle biospy and as you have mentioned - I then had a vacuum biopsy. The vacuum biopsy takes samples from across the scar - like a 'cross hatch' - so tested all areas for any cancer. It all came back benign.

In my case (which is unusual I believe) they decided to leave the Radial Scar in place. Perhaps because mine is 10cm diameter!! I'm still not sure if this is the best decision, because as you say - it is as yet unknown in terms of research (they are apparantly quite rare things) if they can have cells which can turn into pre-cancerous cells, or they can 'mask' real cancers on mammograms.

I was told that all I needed to do was go back to having 3 yearly mammograms. That felt wrong to me. They shook my life up, told me it was a 50% chance of having cancer out of the blue, and then when benign just sort of thre me out of the other end of the system. The Breast Cancer screening units are amazing and the turn aound is very fast in a 'one stop shop'- but for those of us who have something there but not cancer there is no after support / information.

I decided to take it upon myself to pay for a mammogram every 12 months privately so as to 'keep an eye' on things. At some point I may see a specialist privately and ask their opinion as, as you mention, most people witll be operated on to remove it. I'm very aware that mine is still there.

If they recommend a vacuum biospy I can tell you about that. It sounds scary but it was really fine. All done with local anaesthetic. If youbhave any questions I'll do my best to answer - but over 3 years of searching on the web for further information and I still don't know much more!

@Pebble21uk thank you so much for your detailed response.
Because they look so much like cancer I am slightly worried that it may be the wrong diagnosis.This may be a silly concern.
Breast surgeon was sure that I would need an operation to remove it. Perhaps they can have different characteristics. Your one might be more innocent despite the bigger size.
I only had core biopsy and the radiologist took 4 samples. I was told they didn't see cancer. However after further biopsies or op they may find something.
My one has not been detected in my previous biopsy 2 years ago which was graded as M2. I had and still have many cysts.

As you mention it is a good idea to get it checked again I think. I also read that they can happen in the other breast too. I was listening to some you tube videos and I will do some more research.
I asked for my pathology report but not sure if I will get it since I have a feeling that they don't like to share them in the UK.
Lets keep in touch. Have a nice weekend.

Did you mean 10 mm radial scar or 10 cm?

Yes - 10cm!!! Which I think explains partly why it hasn't been removed. They are sure that it's benign and any surgery would be very invasive... and presumably at that size would call for some kind of reconstruction - so as they are convinced it's benign they have left it. Obviously though that decision still gives me some worry! I did ask for a meeting with the radiographer who did the vacuum biopsy after the event. They arranged the meeting - but she was very dismissive which didn't help!

I have been on forums (think it was the Breast Cancer UK forum which I put a thread on) and since then have had several people contact me through it, over the last few years . All those who have ever contacted me (maybe 4 or 5 people) have all had them removed! Which has always left me feeling uneasy about mine still being there!

The needle biospy will have been benign and the vacuum biopsy is to either remove it entirely - or remove enough of it that they are sure there are no cellular changes present. I think they are moving toward vacuum biopsy for removal if they can as it's less invasive.

If you do have a vacuum biopsy, do be prepared for swelling afterwards which takes months to go down! They didn't tell me about that and I was left with an 'egg' like swelling at the top of my breast which I assumed would go down in a few weeks - and didn't. But that is very normal apparantely! After around a year my breast was finally back to normal shape!

The other thing they did during the vacuum biopsy is place a titanium clip as a marker where the scar is (as I believe they also do for breast cancers) The clip stays in permanently and they will use it to be able to see any changes to that area on your next mammogram. Like I said - I just get them yearly for my own peace of mind. They only cost around £100 privately, which is a small price to pay for some peace of mind.

Hope all goes well with they next stage. I'm usually around on here if you ever want to post or PM me! Try not to worry too much - easier said than done, I know - but a negative core biopsy is a very, very good sign

I really appreciate your long message. Thanks for taking the time to write back to me and to give me all this information.Your explanations were much more helpful to me than the professionals. I noticed there is also a facebook group about radial scars etc and I joined however I don't want to comment on it since I am not ready to go public. You never know with facebook.
My age is 50 and I read it is more common for permenauposal women. I really wanted to try using HRT before all this happened but I guess it might be out of question now.

I will try to find the thread you started on Breast Cancer UK Forum. I will update you about my progress.
Piece of my and our health are very important so it makes sense to get it checked annually at least.
All the best,

I was 48 when they found it (now 52) as I was part of some NHS trial to get women in for mammograms a year earlier than normal... so yes, perimenopausal!
I think I would also have gone down the HRT route but for this! There is no literature / studies that I have found which cover the area of Radial Scars and HRT - so I'm not willing to take that chance! To me it just feels like adding risk on top of risk. It could be that it's absolutely fine... but who knows! Too much of a grey area.
I also found I try and cut back on alcohol since diagnosis ( not that I ever drank much) but at that time I discovered that just 2 drinks a week can increase your chance of breast cancer by something like 20%... so I still do drink, but very much in moderation.
Recently I have found that CBD oil helps with the anxiety I experienced relating to peri... and CBD also has some cancer fighting qualities I believe (don't quote me on that - I'm not sure of the research) so I'm trying to find natural alternatives.

Yes there are some supplements we could use instead. It sounds like your doctors have not mentioned anything about HRT. I will ask the question and see what their reaction is. I suffer from joint and muscle aches and it would be really good to benefit from HRT against heart diseases, osteoporosis and dementia as well but the risk might be too high as you mentioned. I never used any hormonal contraception methods either so far and I don't drink much. I probably drank more when I was younger. I will be even more careful now. I have got some CBD tablets for joint pain. Perhaps I should start using them again. I have done my one stop breast check privately. But I may move to NHS. I need to check my insurance cover.

Have you ever met anybody with this condition who was diagnosed incorrectly? I am conscious it is too similar to cancer.

Or ended up diagnosed with cancer after vacuum biopsy or op?
Everybody s case is different though since there may be more complications in the breast. My mammogram was clear 2 years ago. How did it grow so much over the last 2 years? Perhaps it was missed somehow or it is the antibacterial gel I overuse since covid 🤔?
I found the other thread on breast cancer now website. I might introduce myself there too. Thank you for your advice.

Update: It has now been decided that I don't need an MRI or vacuum biopsy. I will have an excision biopsy in 2 weeks time.

Apparently imaging was clear enough and the mass is too big to remove with vacuum biopsy.

I received results from radial scar excision biopsy. Pathology showed benign changes only. However the on going management has not yet been discussed. Next week I will hear more about this. Thank you for your support 🙏 Pebble21uk

Just popping on to say thanks for the thread (has provided some good info) and hope all continues to be going well for you. Had a vacuum biopsy to remove all of mine today…all previous biopsies clear and no one gave me the impression there could still potentially be something untoward there…just reading up now…at least it’s only 48/72 hrs to wait!!

Glad you found it useful. Hope you will receive a clear result soon. Let us know how you get on.