The Biopsy

On Monday, August 20th, my wife was scheduled for biopsies on two places on her right breast following suspicious spots found during a routine mammogram screening.

There were two spots of concern on her right breast. One spot was an area where micro calcification crystals had formed. A second spot was a lump about the size of a chocolate chip. The radiologist who conducted the biopsies was more concerned about the calcifications than he was with the lump.

After the biopsy of the micro calcifications was complete, the radiologist turned his attention to the second spot – the lump. First, the radiologist penetrated the lump with a small needle with the hope of siphoning off some cells from it. However, the mass was more solid than liquid, and he felt like the sample was iffy at best. The radiologist was not overly concerned with the characteristics of the lump. In fact, he gave Dawn Ann a choice as to whether or not she wanted to have a full biopsy of the lump. The radiologist was far more concerned with the calcification spots.

Dawn Ann had to make a choice: undergo another full biopsy, or hope for the best on the second site. If it turned out that the calcification crystals were cancerous, then the breast would be more fully tested for other cancer locations. However, if the suspicious calcification spots turned out to be benign, then she would always wonder and worry if the lump was cancerous or not.

Dawn Ann made the choice to undergo another full biopsy on the lump. As the second biopsy took place, the radiologist took 3 or 4 tissue samples from it, which got most of the lump tissue. Now she had complete samples of both trouble spots that could be examined by the pathologist.

Of course I was not able to be with her during this process due to hospital rules. However, I completely supported her decision to get the full biopsy on the lump. In fact, I would have advised her to make the same choice, had I been present. The peace of mind – of knowing for sure - one way or the other, was worth it.