Main » Breast Biopsy
September 26, 2006
Breast Biopsy is Best Detection Method
I have written here about the core breast biopsy I had a few years ago, and I just finished reading an interesting article that compares the different success rates for detection methods. The breast biopsy was judged to be the most accurate. In one study the "false negative" rate for the core biopsy was 6%. The other methods tested were MRI, ultrasound, PET scan, and scintimammography.
In the AHRQ report, the researchers found that the use of MRI missed 38 cancers for every 1,000 women; ultrasound missed 50 tumors for every 1,000 women; and PET scans missed 76 per 1,000 women. Scintimammography, a nuclear medicine test method that uses a small amount of dye and a scanner to detect cancer, missed 93 tumors for every 1,000 women.
Biopsy Best for Breast Cancer Detection
Good information to know if you ever need to make a choice.
Posted by laura at 9:14 PM | Comments (3)
April 16, 2005
Needle Biopsy Safety
I received an article in an email today. It talks about a June 2004 report from the John Wayne Cancer Institute in California. Here is the first paragraph:
"Needle biopsies, widely used and accepted as a safe and reliable test for cancer, may not be safe after all. The concern is that the technique may accidentally cause malignant cells to break away from a tumor, allowing it to spread to other areas of the body. And according to a study from the John Wayne Cancer Institute, it appears that a needle biopsy may increase the spread of cancer by 50 percent compared to patients who received excisional biopsies, also known as lumpectomies."
Another article to check out on this subject states the following:
"The report's authors state: "Manipulation of an intact tumor by FNA or large-gauge needle core biopsy is associated with an increase in the incidence of SN metastases, perhaps due in part to the mechanical disruption of the tumor by the needle." This is a discreet way of saying that needle biopsy, an increasingly common procedure, was itself responsible for spreading the cancer, although the authors take pains to qualify this disturbing conclusion by suggesting that not every cluster of cancer cells found in the regional lymph nodes will inevitably end up developing into clinically apparent cancer.
The implications of this study are vast, since patients who are found to have cancer in their lymph nodes are automatically classified at a higher stage and therefore face much more extensive treatment than those who have small tumors that are limited to the breast."
I posted about a core biopsy I had in August. I had read articles about the possible spreading of cells before this happened. My mother died from breast cancer. She had a biopsy and she had a mastectomy. Her lymph nodes were clear. After five years she thought she was pretty safe. But it had gone to her liver. Whether something had escaped from the biopsy we will never know.
When I was laying on the table trying to make a quick decision on a core biopsy I asked the doctor about the chances of it spreading from a biopsy if it turned out to be malignant. I seem to remember some kind of vague answer that I wasn't satisfied with, but because I was in a state of shock and she had said it was probably nothing...and I wanted to get it over with quickly, I went ahead with it.
I would NEVER do that again. Why take that risk if you don't have to? It makes perfect sense that a biopsy could spread the cells, doesn't it?
Posted by laura at 2:03 PM | Comments (1)
August 23, 2004
Benign Fibroadenoma!
Great news.....it was a benign fibroidenoma....no evidence of cancer. What a relief! I didn't realize just how nervous I was until about 2:00 today and I knew I was about to find out. A couple of words on the other end of a phone that can change your life. I thought all day about all the women that have gotten bad news instead of good. Including my mother who passed away a few years ago. I am very grateful to be O.K. today.
Posted by laura at 7:38 PM | Comments (1)
August 21, 2004
Core Biopsy
Well, yesterday was certainly interesting! I went for my mammogram and got some bad news.
Actually I was a year late this time. I usually schedule a mammogram every year because Mother had breast cancer. Two years ago I had a mammogram and an ultrasound because I have dense breasts and the doctor suggested we also check with the ultrasound. Everything was fine. So when I scheduled this year I decided to schedule both tests just to be on the safe side. And I had read in The Sexy Years that Suzanne Somers had found her cancer on an ultrasound after the mammogram results were fine. My mother found a large lump herself three months after her mammogram said she was O.K.
I went in for the mammogram. It was fine. On to the ultrasound. The technician didn't find anything. Then the doctor came in and checked. And there it was. I had almost made a clean getaway! I was laying there thinking if I had just scheduled only the mammogram I would be on my way home now!
So on to the options. She said it didn't look bad...she was pretty sure it was probably benign, but there was of course a chance that it was not...maybe 10% or less. Of course I didn't want to live with that 10% so I opted for a core biopsy which thankfully she said she could do right away.
The test was really not bad at all. They numb you up and go in and take about 6 samples to send to the lab. Hardly a mark is left. A compression bandage and ice off and on for four hours. Today I'm not even swollen or red and there was no after pain. Just take it easy and don't lift anything for 2 days.
The bad part of having it done on a Friday is that you have to wait until Monday for the results. I should know by Monday afternoon.
Posted by laura at 11:15 AM | Comments (2)
