The 2011 story, part 1

Hi, folks … it’s annual medical check up time. I had my mammogram on Monday. As is normal, I got a call Tuesday morning saying more views were needed. I did that Tuesday afternoon. (The benefit of being on medical leave: an open schedule.) The results this time, however, were different.

Last time (two years ago?) I had a followup ultrasound and somethingthat I vaguely recall as a sample.

This time I have to have two biopsies of the right breast for suspicious calcifications.

The radiologist said something like this: “we’re not supposed to say that they are probably benign, but they are probably benign.”

Here’s what I found today:

“Suspicious calcifications may be seen in either benign or malignant (cancerous) situations. In our experience, only one out of every four to five patients with suspicious calcifications has a breast cancer and those are usually at a very early stage.”

So – worst case:

Ductal carcinoma-in-situ (DCIS) represents 25-30% of all reported breast cancers. Approximately 95% of all DCIS is diagnosed because of mammographically-detected microcalcifications.

DCIS is non-invasive and “highly treatable.”
http://www.mayoclinic.com/

If you’re curious about radiology results – more pix than you probably
ever wanted to see:
http://www.radiologyassistant.

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