Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...

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RA and breast nodule

Kimhurts
Kimhurts

I just failed my mammogram and have to go for an image guided needle biopsy. They said it is a hard, calcified spot. Can you get RA nodules in your breast? 



Having the biopsy Monday afternoon. If it comes back as cancer, I have no idea what this means for my RA. I won't be able to stay on immunosuppressants drugs, I don't think. 



I know it is more likely to be nothing than cancer. I was hoping someone here would tell me RA nodules are common in breasts though. 

MarleneJ
MarleneJ
I have had issues with cysts in my breasts, since I was 19. Although getting out of menopause has slowed them down..

I figure if you can get a nodule on your vocal folds, why not the breast? I was scheduled for a biopsy a long time ago-maybe 15 years ago. In my lymph nodes in my arm pit close to my breast., I had a hard bump that hurt. My GP suggested it might be an infection, so I started putting Bactroban, an antibiotic cream ion it. I saw the surgeon 3 or 4 days after that, and the lump had disappeared.

I'm so sorry you have to go through all this stress! Praying for you for a good biopsy.
WarriorGal
WarriorGal
Oh, Kim. I know you are freaked out and frightened. Sending hugs.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4420808/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25903203/
katie
katie
What an awful load of crap for life to dump on you right now. I'm sorry this is added to your worries. And this will sound like a petty point in light of the stakes here, but you might rethink your language choice: you didn't 'fail' anything. Exactly the opposite, you were pro-active enough to get a mammogram in the first place, and the test did what it was supposed to do, showing an area of concern, and now you're doing the next responsible thing. Yes, it's a tiny point, but to whatever extent that your health can be affected by your outlook, it's probably worth trying to think of it as a success and not a failure. Hugs.
WarriorGal
WarriorGal
Katie - good advise.
WarriorGal
WarriorGal
Kim - update???
Kimhurts
Kimhurts
First attempt I ended up getting a bruised rib from the biopsy machine. It hurt to move or breathe for a week. Second attempt with a different type of machine was successful. The biopsy was benign. They are going to do another mammogram in 6 months to see if the nodule changes. It is possible they would do another biopsy.

Did you know you can get rheumatoids in your breasts? That could be what this is.
MarleneJ
MarleneJ
Glad it is benign so far! Nothing would surprise me about RA. I had a bad nodule in my throat in 2009. My cousin had one in her throat, and it got so big, she couldn't breathe. She ended up in the ER, and died. They revived her & put in a trache, which she lived with the rest of her life. Twice a day cleaning from a medical person who came to her house. Too much.

Like I said, I've had bad breast cysts. Seems to me like RA can go anywhere.
WarriorGal
WarriorGal
So glad it's benign!!! I'm on every 6 mo mamos for cysts. I see very prone to cysts - have them in many places including on my pancreas.