Aa
the one I love is scared
can anyone give me some ideas on how to convince the most wonderful lady in the world the abnormal tissue. Suspicious and indeterminate findings on a mamommogram (ie) calcification clusters either Macro or Micro isn't a cancer but a possible forerunner and/or increases the risk for future cancer of the involved breast. She will be having a biopsy but in the mean time she is climbing the walls with fear. I am a retired EMT captain and know a lot of medical things and terminoligy and Im not sure im getting through to her.All that along with having lost my mom and dad to forms of cancer.
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Thanks for responding. I have been telling her about the stats and how they work in her favor. I hope to see her tonite and I will have her read your post. Maybe seeing it from someone who has been through it would do more to put her at ease. We are unsure what type of biopsy options as she hasn't talked with her DR yet. I think excisional would most likely be best as the micro tissue could be removed. As i understand it if the tissue is allowed to continue clustering which they tend to do, They have an increased chance to being something bad unless a localized option for treatment is available. I also understand some calcification is normal in a breast with age and post menapausal,women. With preimenapausal women it happens but less. Again thanks for your post
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Then, I did some research and asked some questions and learned that statistically microcals are rarely, if ever, cancerous. And, they are the same type of calcifications that one hears about in regard to Arthritis. What makes these calcifications suspicious is the location in which they grow (the breast) and the manner in which they appear (clusters)... because that would suggest that something is amiss within the surrounding breast tissue that's triggering their growth.
Anyway, the biopsy is the only sure way to know what the nature of the cals are. And, it's one of those unavoidable nerve wracking experiences that one has to go through. So, tell that wonderful lady to relax (even though she probably can't)... the stats are on her side that the cals are benign.
By the way, is she having a stereotactic/needle biopsy or a excisional/surgical biopsy? Not that it matters... it's just that I've had both and I can shed some light about both procedures. Neither were fun, I can tell you that... but, what a relief to have learned that after all was said and done, both pathologies returned with benign findings. Good luck and well wishes to your friend.