If You’re Called Back After a Mammogram

By Stacy Simon Most of the time, women getting their routine mammogram will receive a letter within 30 days saying the results were normal. But if doctors find something suspicious, they’ll call you back – usually within just 5 days – to take new pictures or get other tests.Getting that call can be scary, but a suspicious finding does not mean you have cancer. What else could it be? A suspicious finding may be just dense breast tissue, a cyst, or even a tumor that isn’t cancer. Other times, the image just isn’t clear and needs to be retaken. Or, if this is your first mammogram, your doctor may want to look at an area more closely simply because there is no previous mammogram to compare it with. What will happen at the follow-up appointment? RESOURCES: Breast Cancer Screening ReminderBreast Cancer Screening GuidelinesBreast Cancer Symptoms: What You Need to KnowFive Ways to Reduce Your Breast Cancer Risk You are likely to have another mammogram called a diagnostic mammogram. (Your previous mammogram was called a screening mammogram.) A diagnostic mammogram is still an x-ray of your breasts, but it’s done for a different reason. Often, more pictures are taken during a diagnostic mammogram so that any areas of concern can be carefully studied. A radiologist is on hand to advise the technician (the person who operates the mammogram machine) to be sure they have all the images that are needed. You may also have an ultrasound test that uses...
Source: American Cancer Society :: News and Features - Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Breast Cancer Prevention/Early Detection Source Type: news