Breast Calcifications

[Denise686]

Hi I am new and very nervous. I recently had my mammogram and the dr. call me back in for more imaging in my left breast because small calicum deposits were noticed. he then had me complete an ultrasound after that he recommended I have a biopsy. I was terrified and cried for a while. When I calmed down i  retraced some very important steps I stareted my mammograms when i turned 40yrs. old in 2005 and another in 2006, 2007 all were fine. i skipped 2008  and during that time I had a very serious breast infection as a result of breast feeding. The doctor had to surgical open the area to to remove the infection (pus) the healing process took a while. My questions are could the fact I had   the breast infection be the reason for these calcifications and the skipped mammogram be the reason the dr. is recommending the biopsy?

[Denise686]

Thanks for responding. My biopsy is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 19. im am nervous but strangely not afraid, I just can't stand not knowing. I am praying that all goes well.

[iam1butterfly]

I'm fairly certain that the breast infection that you described and the occurrence of the calcifications are unrelated. As for the actual cutting into the breast tissue... that has been known to stimulate growth activity. I say this because I had a surgical biopsy; then,  2 years later more calcifications appeared in almost the exact location. My surgeon theorized that the surgical cutting during the biopsy likely stimulated more growths. But, it's my understanding that that would only happen if calcifications already existed prior to the surgical procedure.
Anyway, I offer that bit of insight... this certainly isn't to say that your calcifications growths appeared as a result of the surgical procedure that you had. In fact, I have yet to find an explaination as to why these calcifications form in the first place.
As for skipping the mammogram... it's anyone's guess when those calcifications developed. Maybe that 2008 mammogram would have detected something; then again... maybe, not. But, they have been found. And, you may not want to make it a habit of skipping annual mammograms in the future.
By the way, statistically, calcifications are rarely, if ever, found to be cancerous. But, they are an abnormality that can't be ignored or minimized; hence... the biopsy.