Reply to Titanium marker for breast biopsy

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here.

I am also afraid of the marker getting lost in my breast, so that is one concern.  Another concern is that I have a nickel allergy, so I worry about that.

Additionally, I have already decided that if it shows cancer, I am getting a mastectomy, so I won't need a marker.

I'm trying to figure out if there are additional reasons why I should get it.[/quote]

OP, I also have a nickel allergy. Nickel is not titanium. I had no problem with a titanium marker.  Lots of medical devices are made with titanium precisely because it is not a metal to which most people are allergic. Nickel is a pretty common metal allergy.

You need the titanium marker even if you are getting a mastectomy.  During the mastectomy, the doctor removes all your breast tissue in one chunk. (Think of it like a de-boned chicken breast but larger.). That breast tissue - all in one piece - is then sent to the pathology lab, where it is sectioned into multiple slices (mine had like 30 slices).  The pathologist examines each slice for cancer.  The titanium marker(s) are the only way that the pathologist can be sure that he is looking in the right place in the right section for your cancer. (Other side it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.). It’s important to find the cancer and examine the exact margins of it to determine whether the doctor “got a big enough margin”. If the margin is 2 mm or greater, then the odds that the entire cancer was captured are good.  If not, depending on the situation, you may need additional surgery or treatment or take more care in monitoring.

I would strongly recommend that you get the marker(s). The doctor can’t examine ever millimeter of every slice in the same way he will examine the particular area of the slice where the marker is. [/quote]

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