oval asymmetry

mwlw

Hi all,

I'm new here and first time posting. My wife (who is 52 years old). She does mammogram every year. She has been using 3D for several years and it has been fine. But this year report came back with "The 1.1 cm oval asymmetry in the left breast appears indeterminate". She scheduled a new mammogram and ultrasound.

It's pretty scary to us. I wonder if anyone can share your experience? For example, what additional tests should we ask. How likely is this real thing? Should we insist a biopsy even second tests shows benign?

Thank you very much.

Beesie

Okay, slow down. :-)

Call-backs are very common - about 10% of screening mammograms result in a callback, I believe. And asymmetry is one of the most common reasons for a call back.

Asymmetry simply means that there is one area where the breast tissue looks a little different than the breast tissue in the rest of the breast and the other breast. There are lots of possible reasons for this. One of the most common reasons is just that the breast tissue was squished unevenly in the mammogram machine. There have been quite a few women through this site recently who had asymmetry for exactly this reason. Or it could be caused by a harmless fibrocystic condition. And yes, it is possible that the presence of breast cancer could cause asymmetry.

The callback your wife is having includes a diagnostic mammogram, which will focus in on the asymmetry (possibly a spot compression) and may look at it from different angles. Then the ultrasound will offer a different perspective - mammograms and ultrasounds "see" into the breast differently and in combination can help a radiologist determine if there is nothing of concern, if a short-term follow-up (usually redoing the imaging in 6 months) is advisable, or if a biopsy is recommended.

90% to 95% of callbacks do not result in a diagnosis of breast cancer. So take this one step at a time and don't plan on what to do next until you find out the results of the callback.

Good luck to your wife. Hopefully this turns out to be nothing but a false alarm.

mwlw

Hi Beesie,

Thank you very much for your quick response. That makes us feel much better. She will scheduled retest this week.

LivinLife

I cannot relate to the asymmetry aspect though I can relate to the callback aspect. I had many callbacks on my right breast over the last decade+ including two stereotactic biopsies as a result of the callbacks - everything benign. Then callbacks started on my other breast because of one "watch spot" that was more concerning leading to another stereotactic biopsy with an actual issue. Even that was caught early enough so that invasiveness did not develop - it was Grade 3 with expansive comedo necrosis - so serious enough though caught early enough. That is the main point of these screenings. As Beesie said the vast majority of these are benign. When they are not many of them are caught early enough for surgery and treatment to be effective.

I wish you and your wife the best with all you're going through! Please keep us up on what is happening....

mwlw

Update:

Her test came back as good (no issues). She had to go through mammogram again. Then they double checked with ultrasound and didn't find anything. Dr. recommends a 6-month recheck.

Thank you very much everyone for the information and comforting words.

In the course of panicking, I did random search and am so glad I came across this forum.

Beesie

That's great news!!

Thanks so much for letting us know.... it's always nice to hear about good results!

LivinLife

Wonderful!