My mother just got called in to have more tests done on her breasts!?!
Question: My mom just got a mamogram done and was called today. They told her that she had places on both of her breast that was questionable. How common is this? Is is common to have place on your breast and it not be breast cancer? Please help I am worried sick!!!
Answers: My mom just got a mamogram done and was called today. They told her that she had places on both of her breast that was questionable. How common is this? Is is common to have place on your breast and it not be breast cancer? Please help I am worried sick!!!
There are a few reasons why a woman would be called back for more images after a mammogram. Vary rarely, the images are of poor quality or have an artifact on them. This doesn't happen often because the mammographer checks her images before she lets the patient leave. Occasionally, the mammographer will miss something that the radiologist catches.
More often, there is an area of the image that needs further evaluation. This could be because the patient has dense breast tissue. Dense tissue appears white on the x-ray film....and so do all signs of breast cancer (both masses/lumps or calcifications). You cannot see white pathology through white, dense tissue. It is like trying to see a white volleyball in a the snow in a photograph. Sometimes, compression views are needed in these cases, just to ensure nothing is "hiding" behind that white tissue.
Other times, the radiologist sees a mass or calcifications. Many masses and different types calcifications are benign. There are special views we can take (magnification views) which will show those exact areas better. In the case of microcalcifications, these images will show the edges of the calcifications in more detail, so the radiologist can determine which type they are. In the far majority of cases, the radiologist will determine they are benign....not cancer. Even after these special views, a radiologist might ask for a breast ultrasound, and maybe even a biopsy. Even if your mom's case goes as far as a biopsy, around 85% of these are benign (NOT cancer).
Worst case scenerio, your mom may eventually diagnosed with breast cancer. But, if you think about it logically, this is not life ending. It means that she was diagnosed early....before she had an advanced lump that could be felt. This is what regular screening mammography is designed to do! Mammography is designed to find early breast cancers, which can not be felt. The survival rate, in these cases, is about 96%!
So, it is not a bad sign to be called back for more images. It probably happens to about 1 in 10 women after their screening mammogram. Best wishes.......
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