mammogram results?

[joyceanne]

I am 49 years old and I recently had a mammogram. I got a call
from the doctor's office saying that they would need to take some
more pictures because my left breast showed an area that was probably calcifications, and they wanted to get a better view.
So I went and had another mammogram with 4 more pictures taken.
The doctors office called yesterday and said that they couldn't
really tell me anything because the area in question was surrounded by a hazy area that may be and may not be (as they put it)and  to come back in 3 months and have another mammogram done. What I was wondering was if the Hazy area is a common precursor for cancer? And is this what treatment you would suggest? Nothing has been mentioned about a biopsy yet. Thank you Very much for your time....
if the "hazy" area leads you to believe

[drmdncr]

I'm 43 yrs.old and just had my first mamogram. I received a letter a wk later from the hosp. stating that they found and area in question that they beleived to probrably be binine. However they suggested I have a retest in 2-3 mos.. There is a family history of cancers. My maternal grandmother died from pancreotic cancer, my paternal aunt had a breast removed in her late 30's to early 40's and i myself at 23yrs. had 3 spots removed from my cervex. I am very worried about the soonarity of the retest and my nurse practioner doesn't offer much information other than to do the retest. What should I think and/or do?

[CCF-RN,MSN-rf]

Dear joyceanne:  When mammograms are done, the results are accompanied by a BIRAD score, indicating the level of concern on the part of the radiologist.  This score also helps determine what the next step should be.  We are not in a
position to comment on the "hazy" area on your mammogram as we cannot see the film or compare this to your previous mammograms.  If you are concerned, you might consider a second opinion with a breast specialist or even a breast surgeon.  Often these can be found at large academic teaching hospitals.  

[joyceanne]

Yes, its really scary waiting. I didn't know if I should try to
get the mammogram and take it to someone else for another opinion
or just take the wait and see approach. Most people say they have
to have more taken in 6 months. so I'm wondering why they want to do mine again in 3 months ( maybe, they think I shouldn't  wait that long?)because its probably not good news...

[surgeon]

Regarding the second post: It's true that not much may happen in 3 months. However, it's often useful -- if it hasn't already been done -- to get magnification views of the new cluster.

As to the original question, "Haziness" is not a specific term, and can't be interpreted in and of itself. What the radiologist means by it is hard to say. Both the question and the answer in this thread illustrate a problem with mammograms: cancer in general is pretty easy to see. But there are lots of other things that show up that aren't clearly cancer but about which it's not possible to say with absolute certainty what they represent. So what to do is a grey zone, and differs among doctors. 3 months, 6 months, other views, biopsy, second opinion: there's no carved-in-stone recipe. The good news is that in the vast majority of cases, when it's not clearly cancer and is a remote possibility only, it turns out ok. As long as there's some plan to follow up, it ought to be safe.

[Mctonbay]

I have had calcifications in my left breast for many years...I am 59....they always said they were benign....two weeks ago I went for a mamo and the radiologist said a new grouping of calcifications appeared...they are too small to make a decision on...so she told me to come back in six months...I asked her why not three months, she said it wasn't necessary because they wouldn't show any difference in three months.....

Can any doctors out there comment?  Should I take the mamo results to a breast surgeon or should I get a biopsy now..or just wait and see in Septl.