Clustered Microcalcification

[mel43]

I'm very new at this, on July 26th I had a mammogram & was called back for a magnified mommogram. I have been called and told I need to see the surgeon on Aug. 8th to schedule a biopsy. My report read, Clustered Microcalcification of the left breast at 1:00 outer BIRAD-4. So I'm in panic mode, I live in a very Rural area, I'm 43 this is my second mammogram. I'm scared to death, not sure what to expect or what the statistics are. I have had no symtoms until I had the magnified test now my breast is sore and has a burning sensation. Is this normal??
I have very small breast, what should I expect in the up coming weeks. I need help, I'm still trying to understand all of this. Now every ache & pain I feel through out my body I panic. There is no history of breast cancer in my family. There isn't really anyone to talk to here, and the doctors office people don't seem to be the compassionate type of people. Any help/advice would be appreciated.

[diamondlil60]

A related discussion, Bi-RAD 4&5 was started.

[mick5]

A related discussion, cluster calcifications was started.

[wendyot]

A related discussion, 3 clusters of microcalcifications was started.

[Under Forty Pam]

It is probably a stereotactic needle biopsy then.  The process takes about 1 hour most of it is prep.  You lay on a table with your breast thru a large hole.  They squeeze you in like mammogram and it stays compressed the entire time, probably 30-40 minutes and that is the hardest part.  They numb you with a few needles that you will feel but isn't too bad.  They take many pictures along the way to line things up.  When they are lined up and ready to go they do the real procedure which is only 12 seconds (for me anyway).  Then you stay there in the same position while they check and double check to make sure they got a good sample with the calcification in it.  Then they clean you up and bandage you a little and send you home.  Have someone drive you to the appointment.  You can drive yourself but your nerves will be bundled up a bit so it is just easier.  Plan on a lot of ice packs for the ride home and the rest of that day and the next day.  My procedure was on a Fri and I felt a little tired on Sat then relatively normal on Sun and even played softball on Tue.

[ziggy123]

Good idea about getting a ride. I can be too stubborn thinking that I can do it all myself! You are right with the steroscopic term. Sounds like it is not too unbearable. I teach school, so I am hoping that everything can be out of the way before it starts.

[boninclyde]

That doctor is working for you now. Call him and ask what kind and what to expect. Keep us posted and we will tell you what to epect. Good Luck. I do know the pain medications is very important. I had two different types performed. The first was nothing. But the second was a little more painful. They can not give me ephineprin because of a heart condition. But they certainly could have given me more of the stuff without the epi.

[Avidhiker]

My radiologist initially said I would be a candidate for a sterotactic biopsy.  He even walked me to the room with the "table" in it so I can see up close what it would be all about.  He is an exceptional radiologist, Dr. Dill.  Turned out, however, he was wrong:  My breast surgeon said I needed an open biopsy because the area of concern was spread out over too large an area for a needle or stereotactic biopsy to be accurate.  He performed 7,000 breast surgeries over a 33-year period, trained at Sloan Ketering, teaches, etc.  I didn't seek a second opinion.  I trusted his opinion thoroughly and still do.  I had conscious sedation for the procedure with a local. I felt and remembered NOTHING.  The worst part was the dye injection the night before.  Since I had no palpable lump, a radiologist had to inject blue dye in the PRECISELY EXACT area to be removed.  Of course, my luck as usual, that night my breasts were killing me because I was expecting my period! You are positioned sitting up in a mammo contraption.  Luckily, for me it took only 10 minutes in that kill squeeze position.  Not pleasant at all.  My incision is on the right breast, at about 9 o'clock, way on the outside just about under my arm pit, really not that noticeable when looking straight at it. As you know, mine turned out to be malignant so he just reincised for the lumpectomy.  One incision, two procedures.  (Plus an extra incision for the sentinal node biopsy to boot!) Recovery for me was easy despite going under general--took only a narcotic that night.  The worst part was not being able to take a shower until the stitches were removed.  I had a drain for 7 days and managed to hide it from the world. I had a visiting nurse every morning.  Years ago, you would at least have had to stay overnight. Not necessary with a lumpectomy.  Anyway, now it's 3 more adjuvant chemo treatments because of the size of the tumor, 2.4 cm, and then as Johnny calls it, "the hot stuff", probably 33 sessions.  I hope to be done by my birthday, December 14 and as I have previously posted, I am going to have one hell of a celebration!  Thanks for reading my story.  I hope yours will be unlike mine.

[ziggy123]

Not sure of the techical name, but he said that he will numb my breast and use a needle to extract the calcifications. Because of the location he said that my shoulder might be sore. Do they do a mammogram as they perform the biopsy?

[boninclyde]

Find out what type of biopsy you'll have to have and we'll let you know. They are very gentle in either case.

[boninclyde]

I had two clusters then some widespread calcifications. One of mine they said has 25 and one about 15. Which dr.'s is quite a bit.

[ziggy123]

Thank you for your responses. Here I sit waiting for the phone to ring, to find out when my biopsy is scheduled. Asking for it to be done yesterday did not seem to work. My doctor promised to do all he could to make this happen sooner rather than later.
You are all correct, when you said that waiting is one of the hardest parts. At lease when you know something you can be more directed. This limbo makes me crazy!
I do know one thing for sure, I will become the poster child for not putting off a mammogram. My annual should have been two years ago, and I just kept putting it off. What an idiot!

[Under Forty Pam]

I don't believe calcifications are always in the ducts.  I have them spread all over the place.  They were never concerned about widespread calcium only when they moved together to a cluster.  My cluster was also small, almost hard to counts the dots, not many I would say but enough to end up being cancer.  Get the biopsy and stay postive they do say the statistics are in your favor.  If it turns out to be nothing you will be happy, if not then you will join our club and ask a ton of questions.  Many of us are going thru the same things right now, I was a July 2006 diagnosis.

[ziggy123]

One follow up question to all of you. What should I expect with the biopsy? Are you awake? My cluster is high up, if that makes a difference.

[ziggy123]

Can anyone help with this? Do calcifications always occur in the ducts? I have about 8 in a cluster, is this small/large?

[Montana girl 06]

I'm glad your appointment is on Thursday so you won't have to wait much longer to find out. I agree, prayer is powerful, and without my faith and friends praying for me it would have been more difficult for me. You're in my prayers. And plan for a lazy day on Thursday. Get help with meals or order out. Let your family know you need to be pampered that day. And I've found a Tylenol PM the night before surgery helps me sleep better, too.

[mel43]

Well I saw my surgeon today, I'm scheduled for my biopsy on Thursday. He said that there is one Cluster and it's concerning, but he would be more concern if there was a mass or lump and there isn't any. But he will take all of the Micro calcification out of my breast, he said he never leaves them in anyone. He has done many of these and he said more than 1/2 of them turn out okay. He said after they put the wires in then they will put me to sleep for the rest of it.
So any comments would be appreciated :-) I'm a nervous wreck, my stomach hurts so bad I could get sick.

[boninclyde]

Someone here can help you relax I hope but not me. I will be having a different type of surgery. Since I found out 4 weeks ago I throw up, shake uncontrollably and cry most of the time. I know your scared I wish there was something we could do. Prayers.

[boninclyde]

Going through some of the same sort of thing. Today I was reading a book, it suggested I call the pathologist and radiologist who examined my reports. So I did. They were very nice. Most people don't actually call the radiologist or pathologist but I did and like I said they was more than happy to talk to me. Look over your reports and get the name then call the facility. Actually I did not call myself I had to get my husband to do it I was scared. I also read you can get a second opion on a pathology report you just have to have the samples sent to a different path. So after the biopsy you don't feel comfortable, get a swecond opion. Tell them you want to know every single detail they know and what they saw when looking at your mamos and path report.

[CCF-RN,MSN-rf]

Dear mel43:  Microcalcifications are small calcium deposits found within the breast tissue. There are different types of microcalcifications, and based on their pattern on the mammogram it gives the radiologist clues as to their cause. For instance microcalcifications that are more scattered are probably due to a benign (non-cancerous) cause, a "cluster" of microcalcifications may increase concern that there may be an underlying tumor.   A BIRAD 4 category means that there is a suspicious abnormality. Most category 4 abnormalities are benign but may require biopsy since this category can be malignant in 25-50% of cases.  Many women have sore breasts after a mammogram.  The discomfort you are having does is not an indication whether this is a benign or malignant abnormality.

[mel43]

Under Forty Pam: I was not given a choice of a sugeon, the doctors office arranged that before calling me. I have been trying to find a breast specialist but have had no luck with that. I know I would feel more comfortable with one, there isn't any that I know of.

[Montana girl 06]

Is the appointment with the surgeon for the actual biopsy, or to discuss the biopsy? As with any type of surgery, it is your option to get a second opinion. I always met with a surgeon before I had a biopsy. Sometimes the surgeon sent me to a radiologist for the actual biopsy. Questions I would ask are, description of the proceedure, how to prepare for it (sometimes you need to stop taking certain vitamins or meds), what to expect afterwards, if you need to limit activity for 1 day or how long, how much tissue they will remove, how long the proceedure will last, how accurate the results of this type of biopsy are, why he recommends this type of biopsy and not another, if you have other options, how many times or how often the surgeon does this type of biopsy. If you're at all uncomfortable, get a second opinion. It's also ok to ask if the surgeon views the biopsy as probably cancer or more likely benign. The surgeon is not God and cannot give a firm answer but can say if most of this type of biopsy turns out benign or not. As a side note on my previous entry on what biopsies are like, the day after some biopsies you do need to ice the area. Some people have trouble with bleeding, but I never did. They usually have you take Tylenol or something similar for pain. I was sore the day of surgery, but Tylenol really helped. I did follow the nurses instructions completely. And, with all 3 biopsies I could do almost all activities the following day except jog and lift heavy items. It took a week before I was totally comfortable jogging but I could walk as much as I wanted.

[Montana girl 06]

My sister-in-law used to be a Radiology Tech doing mammograms and said you can request to speak to the radiologist about your mammograms but I have never requested that. However, last winter I had to wait while the radiologist viewed my mammmos and Ultrasound so I could carry them to my surgeon in another town since that apppointment was for later that same day. That time the radiologist asked if I'd like to review the films and of course I said yes. He grilled me on my family's cancer history (after the tech person had grilled me on it earlier), pointed out the significant increase in calcifications in only 7 months and shook his head and said it was very worrisome. I was so upset by the time I left I had to sit in my car and cry before I could drive home. I was sure I had cancer. (And this was my 3rd biopsy, so you'd think I'd handle it better than that.) I was so thankful I met with the surgeon later that day because he totally calmed me down. And my biopsy a few weeks later turned out benign. I hope your surgeon has a good bed-side manner and can put you at ease.

[Under Forty Pam]

You might try calling this place and see if they have some suggestions for your area.

[Under Forty Pam]

You always have a choice, it is your body.  Try calling a few local hospitals in your area and ask for a referral for a breast surgeon specialist, they should know of some.  What part of Missouri are you in, perhaps a university hospital might have a choice too.