Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Breast Cancer (Expert Forum)
Microcalcifications
Questions posted in the Breast Cancer Forum are answered by medical professionals from The Cleveland Clinic. Topics include Breast Biopsy, Chemotherapy, Hormone Therapy, Lumps, Lumpectomy, Lymph node dissection, Lymphedema, Mammograms, Mastectomy, Radiation Therapy, Reconstruction, Self Breast Exam, and Surgery.
Microcalcifications
by bow-bow, Aug 30, 2004 12:00AM
In 2000 I had a cluster of microcalcification removed via needle biopsy. They were benign. In 2004 the radiologist called me back after my annual mammo. I had not been told that in 2002 & 2003 the radiologist saw a return of calcifications in the clip area. This year, he said they've increased in number/size. He suggested waiting 6 months. Called the surgeon at Breast Health Center that did biopsy in 2000. He saw films. Had me in two weeks ago to have a wire implanted and surgery to remove a larger area of tissue. When I asked about the possibility of cancer, he said "it could be or could not be cancer and wait until you see me in 13 days". I know he is being conservative with information. Its an awful long time to wait. Do you have information about how likely it is for someone who had all calcifications removed to have a recurrence; and, if the first round was benign, is it likely to be the same this time or has the risk of cancer increased because of the recurrence?
Doctor's Answer
by CCF-RN,MSN-JS, Aug 30, 2004 12:00AM
Dear bow-bow, Microcalcifications are a finding on an x-ray that indicates a pinpoint area of calcium deposit. This could be due to normal wear and tear on the tissue, or it could be surrounding an area of abnormality. When evaluating the presense of microcalcifications how they are distributed clustered vs. scattered give clues that they may be clustered near an abnormality. The presence of microcalcifications doesn't relate to risk, the reason for doing a biopsy is to evaluate this area. It is impossible to say for sure if something is cancerous or not based solely on the presense of microcalcifications.
