Called back after abnormal 3D mammogram

[Anonymous]

I’m 40. I had a mammogram at 32 when the doctor thought she felt something, but haven’t had another until last week. I opted for 3D, and was told that it has a lower rate of false positives. I just got a call that one breast is “abnormal” and I need to come back for further testing. I know this happens all the time with regular mammograms, but does anyone have positive experiences with this with a 3d mammogram? I’m terrified.

[Anonymous]

It could be a lot of things, OP. It could be a patch of what they call "dense" breast tissue; I had to do some repeat images for that. It could be a cyst, it could be something benign.

You've done the most important thing, which is to go get a mammogram. Now, just keep doing all the next steps as you walk through this. It could be nothing; it could be something harmless; it could be something a doctor will need to guide you through.

I'm thinking of you. Call a girlfriend, talk it through. Let some of that worry out a little bit.

Then do your best to stay busy. Focus on your health in positive ways--take a walk, drink some water, make a nice batch of soup. I know you'll worry, so I won't tell you not to. But I will encourage you to put that nervous energy into some positive things for yourself.

[Anonymous]

I've been called back after a 3D mammogram. Everything was just fine. Both the radiology tech and the radiologist reassured me repeatedly that the odds of there being anything to worry about were extremely low, even with a call back. It's far more likely that it's a poor image, dense breast tissue, something benign, etc. - basically anything other than cancer. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Very common, even with the 3D kind. I wouldn’t worry.

[Anonymous]

I was called back this year after 3D. Happens a lot with women with dense breasts. The tech actually said, this is likely nothing but we check everything. So, don't stress at this point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Very common, even with the 3D kind. I wouldn’t worry.

+1

I've been called back twice after 3D. It sucks but it's fine. My primary care doc said that radiologists are terrified of missing breast cancer and are overly cautious -- which is probably a good thing.

[Anonymous]

Very common. Did you do a screening or diagnostic? They will probably do a sonogram to be sure, but it's probably just dense breasts.

[Anonymous]

yes, they did an ultrasound and confirmed that it was a water-filled cyst. Apparently MRI cannot distinguish between water-filled and solid.

[Anonymous]

Very common, but it is labeled as "abnormal". Most likely dense breast tissue.

[Anonymous]

Me too at 40, OP. Had to do 6 month follow up, everything fine.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the reassurance. This was a screening, not a diagnostic, and the lady who called me didn’t use the best wording and totally freaked me out. I would have done better with “the doctor would like to see more images” than “uhhh, you need to come back because your left breast is abnormal.”

I’m hoping that after my next appointment, I can join the chorus of “happened to me and I was totally fine” the next time a thread like this pops up.

[Anonymous]

Happened to me last year and was cancer caught at a super early stage. Absolutely sucks, but my chances for survival are excellent because of early detection.

[Anonymous]

That’s why my doc always asks for diagnostic mammograms. Had an “abnormal” one last year and was supposed to do an MRI. Turned out I was extremely claustrophobic so I couldn’t do it. Had another mammogram this year and they kept calling me back for additional imaging. In my case the original issue was not an issue but my breast density changes because I lost 40 lbs. All is good now. So if you have the mammogram in the same place you did originally there’s a chance that aging or weight fluctuations changed the image. Hoping for the best OP!

[Anonymous]

Agree with above PPs. Callbacks are common, especially if you have dense breast tissue. I think they err on the side of caution. This is essentially your baseline since you haven't had one in a long time, so if there is any question about the quality of the images, or if they want to get extra imaging in a particular area, they want to get it right.

I had a few callbacks that were totally fine. Then I had one that showed a very early stage breast cancer. Although it sucked, I'm grateful they could find it early.

I will be thinking of you and hoping you're one of the many women with a callback who ends up being absolutely fine.

[Anonymous]

OP here
I had my follow up today. They took 2 more angles and an ultrasound. There is a large “maybe cyst, maybe not” and I’m scheduled for a biopsy next week. I had hoped today would be reassuring, but it wasn’t. Now I’m really terrified. I just can’t do this.