Breast Health: Follow-up after an Abnormal Mammogram
Breast lumps and changes during your lifetime
Most women notice changes in their breasts at different times during their life.
- Before or during your period (also called menstruation), your breasts may feel painful, swollen, or tender. You may feel one or more lumps before your period because of extra fluid in your breasts.
- During pregnancy your breasts may feel lumpy, or you may feel breast lumps. This is usually because the glands that produce milk are increasing in number and getting larger.
- As you approach menopause, your hormone levels change. This can make your breasts feel tender, even when you are not having your period. Your breasts may also feel lumpier during menopause than they did before.
- If you are taking hormones (such as hormone replacement therapy, birth control pills, or injections), your breasts may become more dense. This can make a mammogram more difficult to interpret.
- After menopause, your hormone levels drop. You may stop having lumps, pain, or nipple discharge.
It’s important to have breast lumps or other breast changes diagnosed. Always check with
Abnormal or inconclusive scan or test? 5 things to know when the doctor calls
Thousands of people will get screening exams for breast cancer, cervical cancer and lung cancer this year. Others will get diagnostic tests or scans – such as chest X-rays – for other reasons. Some will be asked to come back for additional scans or testing.
If you’re one of those people, you might have some questions. For instance, what does it mean if your Pap test is “abnormal?” Why would your mammogram be considered “inconclusive?” And what else might be causing a “shadow” to appear on a chest X-ray?
Here are five things to keep in mind, if you get a call back from the doctor’s office that your results are abnormal or inconclusive.
1. Don’t panic.
The first thing to do is remain calm. While it may be alarming to learn you need additional testing, don’t automatically assume the worst. There are many reasons your doctor might have requested it. Here are some of the most common:
- Breasts: If this is your very first mammogram, your doctor may be trying to establish a solid baseline against which all future images can be compared. Dense breast tissue can also make it difficult to identify
Called Back After Your Mammogram? Answers to 5 Common Questions
It always feels good to check an annual mammogram off your to-do list. Even though you know it’s important and offers the best method of early cancer detection, it’s always nice to get it over with and out of the way.
Unless, of course, you get the call that the radiologist has seen “something” and needs to conduct more imaging. Callbacks occur when something in the image of your breast looks suspicious or the radiologist sees a subtle change from your previous imaging and they want to take a closer look.
“Think of your mammogram as a fingerprint,” says Dr. Terry Elwing, a former MU Health Care diagnostic radiologist. “Every one is different. It's not like getting a chest or ankle X-ray where every ankle looks the same and every chest has a heart and two lungs. Every breast, even on the same person, is unique. And if we notice a subtle change, we want to take a closer look.”
If you’ve never been called back after a mammogram, your initial response may be panic. But once you know what to expect — and that radiologists are just being thorough — you may be able to breathe a little easier. To put your mind at
What to Expect After an Abnormal Mammogram Screening
January 10,
The dreaded phone call…”The radiologist has seen an abnormality on your screening mammogram that requires additional imaging…” Although most women asked to return for additional imaging from a screening mammogram do not ultimately have breast cancer, I understand this is a stressful phone call to receive. In my previous post, I discussed the statistics that show the likelihood of being diagnosed with breast cancer after being called back from a screening mammogram. In this article, I would like to prepare you for the process involved when you are asked to return for additional imaging.
Understanding Diagnostic Imaging
When a patient is “called back” from an abnormal screening mammogram, additional imaging of the breast will be performed. This is referred to as diagnostic imaging. Most imaging facilities will contact the patient directly to explain that diagnostic breast imaging will be required to arrive at a final interpretation. Generally, a scheduler makes this phone call and will not be able to answer detailed questions regarding your specific mammogram. Additionally, most imaging facilities
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