Hello Mummys_boy and a warm welcome to Cancer Chat, 

I am really sorry to hear about your mum's diagnosis. It's reassuring news though that the tumour has been caught early and that the tumour was so small it could barely be seen. It's good that they are being thorough and that they are doing all these tests even though it will undeniably be a stressful time for you all in the midst of all this uncertainty. 

I am not sure why they can't take the tumour out early or what treatment plan they have decided for your mother but I am sure you can trust the experts to have made the best possible decision for her. It may be that they want to look at things in more detail by having this MRI and other tests done before making a decision. Feel free to give our cancer nurses a call on this free number 0808 800 4040 if you would like to talk things through with them and ask them any questions. Their line is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. 

It shows how much you care about your mum that you are so worried for her but it sounds like the cancer was caught early and that she will be I am sure in very capable hands and will be offered the most suitable treatment. 

Keep us updated if you can on what you find out and what the next steps might be. Hopefully you will hear from other members of our community who have been in a similar situation before and they will be along shortly to share their story with you. 

Very best wishes to you and your mum during this anxious time,

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

The way we had it explained to us, there's a criteria that has to be met before they will suspect if there's genetics involved in it or not. The relatives and their ages play a large part in this.

If i recall correctly, ovarian cancers within the family count too. It's basically not as straight forward as both nan and mum have had/have BC. If your mum asks, they will happily explain the ins and outs of this.

As for why they don't just whip it out. There could be various reasons why. The type, the grade, the spread etc etc. Sometimes chemo is given first, again, not always for the same reason. My wife's oncologist wanted to keep her's in so they could use it as a gauge to see how she was responding to chemo. Her friend, she got the lump out first, and got chemo afterwards. Sometimes chemo isn't even needed. They'll have to also get her more detailed scans such as MRIs and CT's. Some people get bone scans too. It doesn't mean anything, it just means they want a clear picture of what they're dealing with and if systematic treatment is required.

As you can see, there are many variables, and even more than i have listed. I was just using our experience.