Surgery on 7/17 and have question!

Nao

Hi.  I will have surgery - lumpectomy - to remove a tumor and atypia next week on 7/17.   Last week I had mammogram to locate clips from biopsy and loose calcification were found.  There is no way to biopsy all calcification because they are in multiple places and scattered.   Report doesn't say the size or  number but these were not detected in last mammogram done in January.  Doctor's assistant said It does not look like cancer and no need to worry about it.  But I have dense breast tissue and it's hard to diagnose.  When I had mammogram in September 2012, I had calcification found but after ultrasound result was benign.  In 2013 I had mammogram and calcification was found again in a same spot little bigger and after biopsy it was cancer.   Also breast that I have cancer, it's much bigger and it concerns me.  When mammogram report says "loose calcification" is it usually benign? Who knows but wonder if anyone had the same/similar experience. 

Thank you,

Nao

Dancermom1999

My report was clusters of microcalcifications...that is a sign of malignancy, which mine was.

Sunshineinky

Have you had an MRI yet? If not I'd suggest asking for one.  For me we knew I had an additional spot but due to the location it hadn't been biopsied.  The MRI flagged it somehow and long story short it was benign.  They wanted no surprises going into the lumpectomy.  

jeaniebeanie1200

I had a normal mammo in 2012,  in Nov. 2013 showed some microcalcifications, which we biopsied, and indeed was breast cancer,  BS said lumpectomy with radiation in the beginning of Dx! But quickly changed to single MX which floored me, and scheduled for total MX Dec.20 2013, barely enough time to grasp the fact "I, ME, " had BC, and then my breast was gone, I can't wait to get off this roller coaster. Good luck with you decision,    P.S., BS couldn't do lumpectomy as calcifications were to scattered and would of left me with disfigurement he told me.

Nao

Dancemom, sunshineinky and jeaniebeanie - thank you for your post!

So loose calcification could be a cancer... I have a dense breast tissue and mammo couldn't detect my tumor in 2013.  I requested MRI before surgery so that I can make a decision if I need MX or lumpectomy but doctor said it's not necessary.  This hospital is not a cancer hospital and their diagnostic process is not as careful as other cancer center I feel.  But this doctor transferred from cancer center and I was recommended by many people.  

BrooksideVT

Nao, I can only speak from my own experience, but my surgeon wanted an MRI for a better look at my breast and my lymph nodes, and so did I!  If you are planning a lumpectomy, it certainly seems to me that a better look at your dense breasts is called for.  If you are planning a mastectomy, perhaps not.  You might want to call or email your surgeon and ask why, specifically, he does not feel the MRI would be helpful.

Nao

Hi BrooksideVT,

Thank you for sharing your experience.  Did you have biopsy after MRI for calcification? Or it can be detected by MRI image? My BS said calcifications have to be biopsy to be sure if it's cancer and there are multiple calcifications.  When I had biopsy for atypia, it was very painful and I don't want to do it again on multiple spots.   I have a tumor and 2 masses which is atypia, she will remove all 3.  When she removes the area, calcifications will be included in that area so after pathology I will know for sure...  

RaiderGirl

I had calcifications also on the left breast (confirmed cancer on the right). Those calicifications could not be reached because they were right between the breast and the chest wall.

So, I asked the surgeon to remove the left breast calicifications when he did the lumpectomy on the right breast.

Dang, those things are centimeters away from my lung. And an impossible location for mammo to view.

fortunately those were nothing so its one less thing to worry about.

muska

Hi Nao,

If you have dense breasts and are planning for a lumpectomy I recommend you do as much testing prior to your sugery as possible because mammograms are not good at showing cancer in dense breast tissue. Ask your surgeon what non-invasive testing might be done in your case to help diagnose better.

I don't want to scare you by my story but my calcifications turned out to be cancer despite my getting yearly mammos over a period of 12 or 13 years including multiple diagnostic ones. I had multiple scattered calcifications in both breasts noted on my very first mammography report at age 41. I have always had very dense breasts. Was never referred for more testing until my last mammo in 2013 which happened to be 3D; it showed clusters of calcifications in one breast and biopsy confirmed multifocal cancer a week later. My oncology team believes I have had this cancer for 5-6 years before it was diagnosed in 2013 (had mammograms every year.) Testing including MRI done before surgery showed no issues in the left breast or lymph nodes. I opted for bilateral MX anyway and am glad I did: surgical pathology report showed very extensive LCIS in the left breast, IDC, DCIS and LCIS in the right and significant lymph nodes involvement.

I don't want to scare you and wouldn't even be writing this if it weren't for dense breasts that you mentioned. The odds are in your favor because the majority of scattered calcifications turn out to be benign but a bit of additional testing would give you much needed reassurance you have made the right choice.