Education:Mammogram--should I be concerned that I rec'd letter about suspicious area?

Federal law states that every woman receive a letter in the mail within 30 days of her mammogram. The letter will state that your mammogram showed no abnormalities, and when you should have your next mammogram, or it will state you need further work up.

There are a few reasons why a woman would be called back for more images after a mammogram. Vary rarely, the images are of poor quality or have an artifact on them. This doesn%26#039;t happen often because the mammographer checks her images before she lets the patient leave. Occasionally, the mammographer will miss something that the radiologist catches.

More often, there is an area of the image that needs further evaluation. This could be because the patient has dense breast tissue. Dense tissue appears white on the x-ray film....and so do all signs of breast cancer (both masses/lumps or calcifications). You cannot see white pathology through white, dense tissue. It is like trying to see a white volleyball in a the snow in a photograph. Sometimes, compression views are needed in these cases, just to ensure nothing is %26quot;hiding%26quot; behind that white tissue.

Other times, the radiologist sees a mass or calcifications. Many masses and different types calcifications are benign. There are special views we can take (magnification views) which will show those exact areas better. In the case of microcalcifications, these images will show the edges of the calcifications in more detail, so the radiologist can determine which type they are. In the far majority of cases, the radiologist will determine they are benign....not cancer. Even after these special views, a radiologist might ask for a breast ultrasound, and maybe even a biopsy. Even if your case goes as far as a biopsy, around 85% of these are benign.