needle or regular biopsy?

[sj]

I had a mammo and was called back  for a magnified mammo because 1st one showed calcifications not seen last year. Also have had bloody discharge form nipple with some breast discomfort. Mother and grandmother both had br. cancer. radiologist cannot dicern wether clusters are benign or malignant. He suggests a needle biopsy. My gyn. suggests regular biopsy by breast surgeon. which side of the coin would you choose?
Thank you for your opinion, sj

[CCF-RN,MSN-JS]

Dear sj, With the needle biopsy there is more of a chance of a false negative result, meaning the area that is biopsied is smaller and the possibility of missing something abnormal is greater.  You could have the needle biopsy and if negative, the question would still be there as to whether something was missed and the recommendation would be to see a breast surgeon, and if it was positive the recommendation would be to see a breast surgeon.  So you could just skip a step and go directly to the breast surgeon and get their opinion.

[sj]

THANK YOU.  SJ