Yes, biopsies are painful when the anaesthetic wears off! I never felt so desperate for painkillers other than that brief minute when I had to eat something first to be able to take the painkillers I was given.

Sounds like both you and your Dr are being very pragmatic. The only way to really know what it is is to do a biopsy. As you are young they won't want to waste any time and with covid19 it makes sense to have done a biopsy while you were there rather than having to call you back in later if someone else thinks there was something to be concerned about. It's better to be sure everything is ok than uncertain and later find out things have got worse. According to the NHS website 3 out of 4 people who have biopsies done after a mammogram do NOT have cancer.

However, should you be in the 25% who do, cancer tends to grow and spread faster in younger people than older people so it's good news they are not hanging around with a 'it's probably not, we'll wait and see in a few months if anything's changed' attitude. How fast it is growing is rated by the grade it's given: Grade 1 - looks fairly like normal cells and not growing rapidly. Grade 2 - doesn't look like normal cells and is growing faster than normal cells. Grade 3 - looks abnormal and may be growing or spread more aggressively.

I was diagnosed 2 years ago, age 28 with breast cancer, grade 2, stage 2. I noticed something was wrong because my nipple inverted.

The stages (from 1 to 4) are to do with the size of the tumour and whether or not it has started to spread. If it is cancerous, the biopsy results should tell you what grade and stage it is and whether it is hormone responsive (ER+/PR+) or herceptin responsive (HER+). I was ER+, PR+, HER-. 

Drs treating cancer tend to work in teams as there are so many different variations and different treatments for each of those that it would be hard for one person to know it all. 

Between when I noticed something wrong and when I was diagnosed my periods didn't stop but I was much more emotional up and down - slightly scared my family and surprised myself by storming out of the house a couple of times because of what would normally be trivial things. Never done that before. It was like I had a very short fuse and didn't have the reserves to deal with everyone else's ups and downs.

I hope it turns out to be benign and that you can carry on with life as it is but if it does turn out to be breast cancer, treatment has improved so much over the last few years and there is lots of support available both for those with cancer and also their families. 

If you have breast cancer that is ER/PR+, HER -, I was told the risks of infertility from chemo are very, very low particularly if you have zolodex/goserelin which effectively puts your ovaries to sleep. The downside is you will have to wait about 3 years for all treatment (including hormone therapy) to finish before you get pregnant. 

If you don't have cancer, there are blood tests that can be done to help determine what is going on and if you are peri-menopausal.

For both, eating healthily can really help. You might want to take a look at 'natural solutions to menopause' by Dr. Marilyn Glenville. It has 'menopause' in the title but the first part of the book is all about pre-menopause and explains how to eat a diet that helps regulate and balance our hormones at any point as a woman.

I hope this is helpful!

I'm sorry to have been so slow to reply. You will by now have an idea of what is going on I hope. I'm sorry that you had such a delayed process to reach the point of having a biopsy done and I sincerely hope that does not have an impact on the long term outcomes. 

In answer to your question, I was actually diagnosed abroad as I new the local hospital where I was, was good and so didn't hang around waiting. The Dr who sent my for ultrasound and, after seeing the report from it, asked me to come back the next day or within a week for a biopsy made every effort to reassure me there was nothing to worry about but it was important to check. The person who did the ultrasound however went from being very relaxed to having a more serious concerned look on their face while doing the ultrasound so I knew there was something not right from her facial expressions. That was pre-biopsy. During the biopsy, it was made to feel like a very routine procedure and I was in and out very quickly slightly in a daze of what was happening and grateful my friend was their to sort out the bill and collect painkillers for me. It was a different system and less holistic than in the NHS. I was grateful for the bluntness at that point but also very grateful that I was back in the UK for treatment where there's more patient involvement and discussion in what treatment is recommended and given.

Another book I would recommend is 'The scars that have shaped me' by Vaneetha Rendall Risner. I was able to be positive through treatment because I had space to be vulnerable and weak and felt able to do so because of the wonderful people around me who were supportive, it was sometimes surprising who those people were too! There were of course good days and bad days and ups and downs. I even effectively tried to 'run away' at one point after one appointment that I'd gone to alone but had an unexpected phone call from a friend as I was doing so and it was just enough to help me realise how ridiculous I was being and begin to face up to how and what I was feeling and after staying a night with a friend near where I'd got to I went back home and talked things through and realised it wasn't as scary as it had seemed at the time.

Many people commented how well I was doing because they only saw a part. Like with anything in life, it's not appropriate to show everyone what's going on inside us but it is important to find a few safe people with whom we can share and who can stand with us in working through our challenges. I hope you find yourself surrounded by people you know love you and support you which ever way things go and find a safe place to let all the emotions flow and find release.

Big love and hugs xxx

Thank you so much for your kind reply and I am so very sorry for what you have been through and hope you are doing well now ? 
 

well I am more in limbo than ever really since the results ...

I had my telephone call and was so nervous I was physically sick but the guy that called seemed confused, he said hi I'm consultant ....., and I've called to let you know your results are benign so just go back to your Gp if anything changes...strangely I didn't feel an immediate sense of relief (which I would have expected) and neither did my husband who is the most chilled positive man I know (which was weird for him)!

confused I questioned, did the tumour shown no abnormal cells? Will it go away on its own? It's blocking my nipple duct and growing still so do I need it removed ? 
he responded with ...tumour? It says here you had a rash biopsied? The rash will go away on its own! I said no I had what I was told was definitely a tumour biopsied, he said women get lumpy breasts it's completely normal, he also said fluid drawn from your biopsy ( I was assured no fluid came from my biopsy which ruled out cyst or biopsy there and then) he said it says here the consultant saw a shadow but no tumour (I was told it 100% was a tumour that the biopsy was to check if it had abnormal cells) he said I do not know your personal case I'm just giving you your results, if your concerned go back up your gp in 6 months. 
I got off the phone really confused! Really! So I called back an hour later and requested someone get my results up on the computer as I did not have a rash biopsy and I did not feel that the doctor gave me my results but that of someone else. A nurse finally called back after checking the notes from the day of the biopsy and confirmed a tumour was noted, I asked for my results but instead I've been asked to go back in 4 weeks ( for clarification to ease my mind) Which is strange, I said I just would like the results of the biopsy of the tumour which I was told had no fluid, was not fat a cyst, calcification or a fibrodema and I could not get those answers. 
 

confused I finally get a letter a few days later stating the codes etc attached to what the doctor on the day thought and it coincides with a tumour that may not be benign, it then says biopsy results benign. I then opened the next letter sent out the next day (dated) requesting I come back? I've stated both to them that if my results are benign that's great i therefore do not need to return in 4 weeks however I've adamantly been advised by both gp and consultant that it is really important I return and possibly have another biopsy. I'm so so confused!! ?? 

on the day I know I skipped the big waiting room full of people due to the fact that I am shielding (I was not next on the list). To me it would seem I was called with somebody else's results and now I must go back to check. I'm not going to let it play on my mind, I just feel confused nobody could actually give me my results (that correlated to what I actually had biopsied). 
 

so I'm not sure whether to return in a few weeks or not? I feel like I should not. 
 

thank you for your kind post and please take good care all the best for the future xx