Need your help - calcification question

livesstrong

I had a mammo last Friday and the radiologist found a cluster of 5 calcifications. I can't see my bs until Aug 20th so I was wondering if any of you ladies had experiences with calcifications. I'm assuming she will want to do a biopsy. I read here that it could be an early sign of bc, so naturally I'm a little apprehensive.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!

Valerie

Member_of_the_Club

Yep. Did you have a lumpectomy? It is not uncommon to have calcifications after a lumpectomy and they can show up a year or two later, thats what happened to me.

livesstrong

Yep. I had a lumpectomy last Sept. I can't for the life of me remember which breast the radiologist said he found them. Once he mentioned there was a problem my mind went blank!!

Thanks!
Valerie

Anonymous

Valerie...I too have had follow-up mammograms showing calcifications. The radiologist explained to me that it is the pattern these are forming that indicates whether they are most likely benign or not. No one was worried about mine, so I didn't either. I have a follow-up scheduled next week and am hoping for "just" those same calcifications.

It seems to me that the radiologist would have notified your onc or bs if s/he was suspicious and further tests would already have been ordered. But if you're still worried, why don't you call the office and see if you can talk to the doctor or nurse?

Marin

Beesie

I'll just echo what Marin said. It's the size and pattern of calcifications that counts. About 60% of all women will get calcifications as we age. Most calcifications are harmless. Often the radiologist can tell right away from the size and pattern of the calcifications on the mammogram that everything is fine. Other times, it's less clear, and in those cases, usually a stereotactic biopsy is ordered. Even the majority of these cases turn out fine - they are just harmless calcifications but it wasn't as obvious on the mammogram film. Only a small percentage of calcifications represent breast cancer. These are tiny calcifications - mine were like specks of sand, even on the magnified view of the diagnostic mammogram - and they tend to be clustered in a linear formation (cancerous calcifications usually line a milk duct).

When I was diagnosed with cancerous calcifications in my right breast, I also had two different areas of harmless calcifications in my left breast. One area didn't even need a biopsy; the other area was biopsied and turned out fine. So I know from experience that while calcifications can be an early sign of BC, more often, they're just run-of-the-mill harmless calcifications.

livesstrong

Thanks for your input everyone. Since it as my first diagnostic mammo the radiologist had nothing to compare it to. The mammo was also my yearly ordered by my ob/gyn. So the radiologist suggested I go back in 6 months for a follow up but also said they I might want to call my doctor to talk with him about it. I asked for the report to be faxed to my bs and when I called to see if they got the report that is when they scheduled the appointment.

Thanks for making me feel better, I know I'm probably reading more into this then I should. Its just that next week it will be a year since I was dx and I sure don't feel like spending the time getting another biopsy.

Valerie

Catherine

Most women have calcifications, so it might be nothing. They are only a problem when they appear in clusters. I had that four years ago and was diagnosed with DCIS. Good luck!

Catherine