I'm so grateful this group is here and wish good health for all of you.
I hope it’s okay that I post here. I haven’t been diagnosed with breast cancer yet but I’m scheduled for biopsies on both breasts July 18th because additional imaging found suspicious areas.
My first worry is simply about the procedure itself, which sounds like painful torture.
I understand they numb up the skin with lidocaine, which will make the initial incision painless, but the deeper tissues will obviously not be numb.
They are going in to almost my chest wall through dense breast tissue to get multiple samples with that thick needle, and although they told me it would be painless….I don’t believe them for one minute.
The other breast has calcifications that aren’t terribly deep in the tissue so I suspect that biopsy will be only mildly painful, but the other one, I am worried about.
I don’t understand why they don’t at least offer IV sedation to women during this procedure, or one pain pill for the procedure.
Frankly, I am thinking of calling them up and asking for the strongest sedative they will prescribe for me (my husband will be driving) because I can handle pain a little better when I am calm.
And if I had any Percocet in the house, believe you me I’d take it before the biopsies because I am that certain the one will be severely painful.
Thank you all for letting me post and vent some about my fears.
I’m scared of the cancer, too, of course…runs in my family and docs have estimated my lifetime chance to be 1 in 3 so I am thinking, yup, this is cancer…but my most immediate fear is of the biopsies themselves and the pain I know I will experience.
They don’t expect us to have dental work done without being fully numb…why do they expect us to be fine with what is essentially surgery with only the surface skin being numbed? Is it just, you know, we are women, so we don’t matter, our comfort doesn’t matter?
= new reply since forum marked as read
And they weren’t that deep, it was kind of painful when they did the first one they didn’t go deep enough and it wasn’t conclusive so I had to do it again that was a bitch. Eventually they found cancer with a different kind of biopsy I got a lumpectomy, chemo, and radiation and am clear for the last three years so stay optimistic. I know it’s hard not to worry and be anxious. 
I have two friends who have overcome breast cancer, even though it got into their lymph nodes. Cancer isn't what it used to be!
Cancer sucks. You will kick cancer's butt. Please, please keep us informed, no matter what. 
hip bone and extract) and as a needle phobic I was terrified! They wouldn’t sedate me but arranged for me to have the person most skilled to do it. Gave me tranquilizer before and the pillow I asked for to scream in to 
Was it fun? No. But I was surprised that it was fairly quick and not the torture I expected.
Ask for a tranquilizer in advance. I mean, even dentists prescribe/give for anxious patients. Would be surprised if they won’t. My guess id that afterwards like me you’ll say “that wasn’t so bad …” but this is about anxiety more tyan pain which is just as important to treat!