just turned 30, have clusters of microcalcifications

Hang in there Erin - 

As scary as this is you WILL get through it.  My oncologist and breast surgeon recommended that I either avoid the internet or stay on websites like mayoclinic during the time of my workup as well - I think that it was helpful for me in terms of keeping stress level down. I know this is easier said than done.  My best advice is to surround yourself with family and friends and try to take it as easy as possible.  

I don't know if this is helpful or not but from my recollection of the most recent data you have to screen 10,000 women under 35; of that group ~1300 will get a callback for further testing (possibly including biopsy) to diagnose 16 cancers, so the odds are on your side.  There can be a lot of reasons women have microcalcifications and the mammogram just can't always tell you what is going on and in fact my situation was the opposite - my microcalcs looked benign on mammo but were in fact DCIS that was completely treated by surgery (and I could have done a much less extensive procedure than I did, although I am at peace with my personal decision for a variety of reasons).  So you just don't know until the biopsy is done.  So try to hang in there! You will be ok!

take care,

Meredith 

Namaste!

e-barb,

The best things you can do right now are as others have suggested.  Be with friends, family, do some activities that you enjoy and occupy your time and thoughts.  Going for walks is great.  When I had my BXs I had one ultasound guided and two stereotactic.  I didn't have any meds before but they used local anesthetic.  It was a lot less discomfort than going to a dentist.  The only real uncomfortable part was having to lie so still for so long on the stereotctic table (two BXs and the machine stopped working for a while) and my jaw was resting on the hard top edge of the table and I though my jaw was going to dislocate or something.  So make sure they position you so you can remain reasonably comfortable without moving for the whole time.

Good luck and I wish you the best.

Karla

I just read this other post on your profile and had to laugh. Men seem to have the luxury of a quadrant brain. They file things they need only for immediate use. ie/ "Call me when it's cancer, and we'll deal with it. Meantime, stop sucked up energy worrying." He means well and like yours, mine is TRYING to do everything right.. coming with me for my bx on Thursday, taking the day off work, the works. But like I told him.. the best analogy I can give is when a little kid tell you they're afraid of the dark. You don't dismiss them.. you turn on the light, and show them their are indeed no monsters. Right now, we're waiting for that light to come on. And waiting is miserable! He's had health scares and I am the one who is a frantic mess, doing all the research to understand what all the tests are, mean and what they're looking for. He sat their in ignorant bless -- in the end, he was better for it. But that's our nature.

 Like you... I feel too young to be worrying about this... my kids are young and I'm haunted by my g-mother dying of BC when my aunts were about my son's age (5) and how much her absence affected their lives. But we need to remind ourselves... if if either of us face this, it's not the 1960s anymore.

 Hang in there.... I'll be with you in spirit (and in location - we drive to NJ this weekend! We live in CT).