Calcium on my sonogram

I am very scared I dont know what to do...I have no history of breast cancer in my family history and want to know what are the causes of calcium deposits and what are the likely chances of it turning out to be cancer?  I have a consult coming up for a biopsy and I understand there are different procedures they can do.  How do they determine which biopsy they need to do?
What determines that they may have to surgically cut into you, to do the biopsy and does it leave a scar?

[zouzi]

Hi,
Calcification can occur in the breast as a result of aging, injury, aging blood vessels, a duct plugged with milk years before.Calcification that are seen scattered in the breast are not worrisome.Only when they form in a certain pattern,(Clustered) there can be a cause for concern The majority of the time, breast calcifications do not mean cancer.However, breast calcifications should still be evaluated if they are suspicious.
A needle biopsy or surgical biopsy may also be required to draw cells from the calcification in order to evaluate them under a microscope to check for the presence of abnormal cells.
Your Surgeon will inform you about which biopsy procedure is preferred for your particular case.Usually biopsies leave very little scars.
Most biopsies for calcification result in benign finding and I wish the same will be for you too.Please let us know how things are proceeding.
Best wishes and good luck.

[iam1butterfly]

I've been biopsied twice (stereotactic and surgical) due to microcalcification growths. With both of my biopsies returning with benign findings. The choice as which type of biopsy that is to be performed may depend on a number of factors... In my case, I had to have the surgical biopsy because my cals where located too close to my chest wall and the radiologist was unable to reach the cals with the needle probe.

Anyway, according to the surgeon who performed my surgical biopsy, calcifications are rarely, if ever, cancerous. What makes calcifications suspicious is the manner in which they grow (i.e. clusters) because that would suggest that there's an abnormality within the surrounding breast tissue that's triggering their growth. And, the biopsy is the only sure way to know what the nature of that growth is.

As for scarring... the stereotactic/ needle biopsy left me with a barely noticeable puncture scar that resembles a dimple. The surgical/ excisional biopsy left me with a very fine line 1 1/2 inch scar... it's noticeable; but it's no big deal. In fact, my boyfriend says that he likes it.

Take care, good luck with the biopsy and wishing you a favorable outcome. And, if you want more specific information concerning either biopsy procedure, please feel free to PM me, anytime.