Many microcalcification "clusters" found on screening mammogram benign, really?

[nancwilt]

Hi, I just got a diagnostic mammogram and ultra sound done after an initial screening mammogram indicated I had abnormalities in both breasts. The diagnostic tests picked up several clusters of micro calcifications. There were seven clusters on right breast alone. I do not recall how many were found on my left  breast. The radiologist told me the clusters looked benign. He told me I should come back in six months to get another mammogram to make sure that nothing has changed. He told me that he did not think it was needed to have any of the clusters biopsied. I am 53 years old and post menopausal. This is the first mammogram I have had in ten years and they did not have a baseline mammogram  to compare the screening mammogram to.  Should I have insisted on getting biopsies done?  My maternal aunt died of breast cancer last year at the age of 63 and I am afraid to find out too late that I have breast cancer.

[iam1butterfly]

Microcalcifications are rarely found to be cancerous. But, being the abnormality that they are, they should be monitored and often times, they are biopsied as their appearance would suggest that something with the surrounding breast tissue is triggering their growth.

Whether or not that something is, in fact, cancerous can really only be conclusively determined by a biopsy.

Now, there is that 6 month follow up, wait-and-see approach that'll indicate any changes had occurred. It's not a bad approach... it's just one that I didn't opt for when my microcalcifications first appeared in 2005. From my perspective, I just couldn't see enduring 6 months without knowing the nature of the cals. I'm too much of  a nervous wreck for that... as I have an extensive family history of Cancer, including Breast Cancer. So, I had to go with the biopsy to have that "peace-of-mind," which I did get because my cals were determined to be benign.

Anyway, what you decide depends entirely on your comfort zone and what feels right for you. If you feel that you'd sooner know now rather than 6 months from now about the nature of the calcifications, then discuss and arrange the biopsy option with your doctor. But, if you can go with the 6 month wait, then, of course, that's your decision.
Just know that you do have a choice in this!       Good luck with whatever you decide.

[RTRM321]

I can understand your concern and fear of waiting 6 months for another mammogram!  But since the Radiologist had no comparison images, it can be difficult for them to know whether or not these calcifications are "new" findings or "changing conditions" in your breast.   The calcifications may very well have been there for the past 5 or 10 years with no change, which would make them unsuspicious and benign.   Apparently, the sizes, shapes, and number of calcifications within the clusters appear benign in the Radiologists opinion and I would accept that. If any of the groups change after 6 months, then a biopsy would be recommended.  Please understand, not all calcification clusters are a malignant process, and the Dr is trained to decipher which ones are suspicious and which ones are not.  If you believe a biopsy should be done for your own peace of mind, confer with the radiologist and ask them which areas are more suspicious than others.  Doing multiple needle biopsies on patients can be stressful and quite uncomfortable and unnecessary on some people.  
Again, I understand your fear and you may want to discuss this with your ordering physician (Primary? OBGYN?), and not wait the 6 months.  But it sounds to me like the Radiologist just wants to ensure stability in your clusters of calcifications before recommending an unnecessary biopsy.  
Regardless, please get your Annual Mammogram done to ensure stability in your breast images ;)


Best regards to you....