HER2 Support Group Forums - View Single Post

AlaskaAngel · 12-08-2008, 05:26 PM

Hi StephN,

Thanks for the question -- The reason I am asking is to try to nail down whether or not it is still standard practice to have to be recognizable lump found either by palpation or by imaging prior to going ahead with a biopsy.

In other words, I want to know whether a biopsy would be recommended without any evidence beyond something like calcifications on a mammogram.

A family member in the Lower 48 has been recommended to have a stereotactic biopsy, but no lump has been either felt or imaged by ultrasound or MRI or anything, and her mammogram shows just coarse calcifications, and she is having trouble getting any imaging authorized to verify that there is any lump. This is not standard practice as I know it and would result in an awful lot of benign biopsies (and the trauma both physical and emotional that goes with it all). So I am hoping to double check here with others to see if the standard has for some bizarre reason changed in this respect.

AlaskaAngel

12-08-2008, 05:26 PM	#3
AlaskaAngel Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Alaska Posts: 2,018	Finding cancer Hi StephN, Thanks for the question -- The reason I am asking is to try to nail down whether or not it is still standard practice to have to be recognizable lump found either by palpation or by imaging prior to going ahead with a biopsy. In other words, I want to know whether a biopsy would be recommended without any evidence beyond something like calcifications on a mammogram. A family member in the Lower 48 has been recommended to have a stereotactic biopsy, but no lump has been either felt or imaged by ultrasound or MRI or anything, and her mammogram shows just coarse calcifications, and she is having trouble getting any imaging authorized to verify that there is any lump. This is not standard practice as I know it and would result in an awful lot of benign biopsies (and the trauma both physical and emotional that goes with it all). So I am hoping to double check here with others to see if the standard has for some bizarre reason changed in this respect. AlaskaAngel