worried about tomorrow exam

[abacab2614]

Hi. I am new to this site. I had a steriotactic biopsy on Monday and they COULDNT get the calcium clusters in the needle and said that the surrounding tissue kept pushing calcs away. Radiologist kept needle in for half hour digging and taking xtray. I now sit  here with bandages looking at an appointment with a breast specialist tomorrow. He is performing a physical exam and maybe ultrasound my painful right breast. What will he suggest....needle location biopsy...Does anyone know how 1 to 2 inches of tissue removal will make my breasts look afterword? I have little dense breasts. Calcification is located up against chest wall!!! Worried. And dont have trust with the incompetence of Tuesdays biopsy gone terribly  wrong. Only 10 percent chance cancer. Debating what to do.

[japdip]

Actually it all comes down to how comfortable you are with the 6 month wait. Not recommending anything but I would wonder how his wife would feel about it .... not what he would advise her to do. I can only speak for myself but if the Radiologist thought the area needed to be biopsied then I would agree with that. They are the ones who are trained to recognize what deserves further investigation and what doesn't. If you have serious doubts there is no reason not to have your films read by another Radiologist and/or get a second opinion from another Breast specialist. I don't think I would be so concerned about a small scar; what looks like a big scar today may be hardly visible in several months or a year. I'm afraid you'll have to rely on what is comfortable for you in making this decision.   Regards ....

[abacab2614]

Hi,the breast surgeon stated I could wait and check by mammography again in 6 months, or do an MRI of the breasts which may lead to more questions, orA needle biopsy with the guided wire and remove an inch at least of tissue. This would leave big visible scar on upper breast seen in shirts and swimsuits. He said that the cancer type in slow..progressing over 7 years from 0 to 1, but watch to see if any changes occur. Most of the time these calcifications are not cancer. He said 15% chance this type of patterning can be byproduct of cancer. He would advise his own wife to wait and watch. Any thoughts?

[japdip]

I apologize for the delay ... I believe I answered your concerns but evidently it failed to post for some reason. The calcifications being so close to the chest wall would certainly account for the difficulty encountered with your biopsy; this is unfortunate but it does happen now and then. It's not really the fault of anyone. By now you have no doubt seen the Breast Specialist and have his/her opinion on what comes next. Perhaps an excisional biopsy may be recommended but of course this also depends on the exact location of the area involved. I don't know where you obtained the percentage of this indicating cancer but I would question that figure. Some type of biopsy will certainly be necessary to determine the nature of these calcifications. You must remember that not every procedure is successful and this is rarely the fault of anyone.  Regards ....