Six months ago I had a cyst in my breast which was aspirated. I was told to come back for a 6 month follow up mammogram. Well it turned out that I had calcifications that they wanted to monitor. A cluster of calcifications have grown so they now want to do a core biopsy. I am scheduled for this coming Thursday. Has anyone had this and how was the procedure and after effects? I am told that only 20% of these calcifications are positive for cancer, so I am trying my best not to panic. Any words of wisdom or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

There are different types of core biopsies. What type are you having? I had one (sterotactic) two years ago and I do remember the radiologist telling me that these types of things were very rarely cancerous, but they have to make sure. Let me know what type you are having and I will tell you more about the procedure if I can.

Nancy

Because you have calcifications I would suspect you will have a Stereotactic Core bx. Most places do not use ultrasound guided core bx's for calcifications due to the difficulty on seeing the calcs with U/S.
On a stereo you will lie face down on a table with a hole for the breast to fall through. There will be some compression (not as much as required for a mammogram). There will be prelim pictures taken (of only the area of interest) and then you will have a numbing shot. After all the parameters are set the doctor will shoot the needle into the breast taking tissue samples. It depends on the doctor and what they see on the sample films as to how many times this is done. There should be very little to no pain. They will insert a tiny marker into the area they did the bx. You will not ever know it is there but it will show on every mammo you ever have. Afterwards the technologist will apply pressure to the breast to halt any bleeding (be sure you are off all meds that can cause bleeding well before this procedure). They may do a follow up mammogram film before you go home. Most places have a small ice pack that you will place in your bra. The samples as sent to a lab and hopefully you will hear something within a day or two.
Good luck to you and you are right in thinking not all calcs are cancerous.
Newfie11

Thank you so much for your posts. I fear the unknown and having information helps lessen my anxiety. I saw my mamogram and it looked like the night sky with little stars all around. The technician said that they were calcifications. Since I have so many all over, I fear that is not a good sign. It is so hard to keep a positive attitude. At least I don't have long to wait for my biopsy.

I figure that if I do have cancer, that I will go for the masectomy without reconstruction. If I had a lumpectomy I would be stressed that there was still other calcifications in there ready to become cancerous. Since I am thin, I would need an implant for reconstruction and that would make the needed mamograms difficult causing me to be stressed too. So if I do have cancer, I would be better off psychologically just having the masectomy with no reconstruction.

I know that I am jumping the gun, but I have always been the type to think the worst, and hope for the best.

Thanks again for taking the time to help.

If the calcs are not close together but little/large bright single dots all around the breast it would indicate benign calcs (like a stary sky). I would very much doubt they will do a bx on that. Did the technologist show you the exact area they were going to bx? Cancer can be one cell off of where the samples come from and usually there are one or two areas of major concern for a bx, sometimes more but never the entire breast.
One other note, usually the cancer has passed where the calcs show up. They are left in the process of it moving through. There are still cancer cells there.
When you see the radiologist I would ask him/her to point out the area of concern. I don't know if you got to talk to the radiologist after your mammogram or not. I would stress you do before the bx.
There are pro and cons in reconstruction if it comes to that. It would be a personal choice. Many many times calcs look like cancer but turn out to be a benign process.
newfie11

I recently had a biopsy for microcalcifications on the 23 of jan. and there was nothing to it! The hardest part was holding still while they developed the films for the wire guides. But believe me I know your anxiety!! And thank God I recieved great results on the 25th. Try not to panic to much, I know it is easier said than done. I had approximately 7 in one group and it turned out to be nothing!! So good luck

The doctor said that there was an area where the calcifications had increased. The technician did not show me the area, she was just showing me the full breast on the screen and I asked her what the little stars all over were. I am just worried that if I do have cancer that a lumpectomy would not be the way to go when I have all of these calcifications all over. It is like my breast would be a ticking time bomb. I wonder if a person can have a lot of calcifications and it never becomes cancer?

Calcifications are not always cancer. Most are not cancer. They can be caused by many things benign. Most of the bx for calcs are benign. Radiologist are always jumpy if the calcs have increased. I assume they did magnification views on you before ordering the core. What concerns the Rads is the shape, density, cluster, what direction the calcs are going(are they tracking toward the nipple), what the area around them looks like on the picture, and sometimes if they are increasing. By the way, the core films are digital and show on a computer screen. There will be no developing films unless they use a non digital mammo unit to x-ray the specimens.
I assume, boodle2, that you had a needle loc. That is done with the mammo machine and there are times the stereo cannot be used and a needle loc is necessary. In that case films are taken to find the area. The Radiologist will have to insert a needle, then films are taken to see if the needle is in the right place. If it is, the a wire is advanced through the needle and the needle is pulled out. All this time the patient is in compression so the area of concern doesn't move from the first film. The wire has a small hook on the end and remains in the breast until a surgeon follows the wire down and remove wire and breast tissue. Most of the time this is done in surgery, years back some doctors did this in their offices.
As far as lumpectomy vs mastectomy, IF you have cancer and that is a big IF at this point I would talk to your doctor and an oncologist before making the decision. I do not know your age. I can tell you at my age (60) I would very likely have a mastectomy without reconstruction. That is a very personal thing and each woman who has breast cancer will need to do what is right for her. When faced with breast ca I think the very best thing emotionally is talking to others that have been through it. I thank goodness have not.
Newfie11

Dear Boodle and NewfieII:

Thank you both for your replies.

To Boodle: What does that mean when you said "I had 7 in one group"? Does that mean that you had 7 biopsies done? Thank you for going into detail about the core biopsy.

To: NewfieII: I am 49. Do you know how many days it takes until you usually get your results from pathology? I would most likely go for the no reconstruction because I just don't want to worry that they got all of the cancer out. I read something about margins. If the cancer is not close to the bones and I have a masectomy where it did not reach the lymph nodes then I would feel that I had a better chance of no recurrence.

Do you still have to go for a mamogram or an ultrasound if the breast was removed? I know that they would still do a mamogram on the remaining one.

Thank you both again, I really appreciate your posts.

If there is any breast tissue left, yes you will still need to have a mammo on that side. As far as results, it would depend on the turn around time. In my area patients know in 24 hours. Ask the Radiologist, also ask the Radiologist who gives you the results. I am only familiar with the Rad calling patients to give results on cores. It maybe different where you are. Needle locs are different. The results are usually sent to the referring doctor as well as the surgeon. The mammogram facility also get a path report but contacting the patient is left up to the other two doctors. One more thing IF this is positive for breast ca, you should be referred for an MRI (VERY IMPORTANT). There are other test as well.
Good luck to you and I very much hope all turns out well.
Newfie11

What is the purpose of the MRI? Thanks!

I had at least 7 calcifications in one area that is why they needed to do a biopsy. Back at the beginning of summer they saw the first ones and then 6 months later there were more so they (and I )wanted to be sure it was nothing to worry about. I go back tomorrow to have the stitches removed, I also am 49, they said they are very common in women of my age group.

If you have a cancer dx the MRI should be done to see the extent of the cancer. I know of a patient who had DCIS, had the MRI and found she had a kidney cancer(new primary). In her case the breast cancer was a blessing. It is curable but the kidney cancer would probably have metastasized before it was known to be there. There are other tests, such as sentinal node testing if there is a cancer but this is way ahead for what you are going to have.
Hopefully all this information will not be needed and your stereo will be benign.
Good luck.
Newfie11

I survived the biopsy! It seems that my suspicious calcifications are located under the nipple straight down deep in the breast near the chest wall. Lucky me! I won't have the results until next Wednesday. It will be a long 5 days.

I am so glad its over for you. Let us know what they tell you. I know it will be a long five days, but try to keep in mind that your chances of NOT having cancer are at least 80%!

Nancy

I am glad thats over for you and I wish you the best of luck on your results.
Newfie11

Thank you so much Bioadopt and Newfie! It is so hard to remain positive with my sore, swollen breast reminding me of it all day. What has me even more worried is the location of the calcifications. I am praying and keeping my fingers and toes crossed that I am in the 80%.

I go my results back today and they were negative!!! I can breathe a sigh of relief until the next mammogram scare. Thank you for your kind words and caring compassion.

FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!

Newfie11

That is wonderful news!! Now you can relax and get on with life!