do not panic if you are told that your mammogram is abnormal or that there is a "spot" on your mammogram. an abnormal mammogram does not mean you have cancer. the overwhelming majority of abnormal mammograms are caused by benign (harmless) processes. in some cases it may just be an area of thicker or more dense breast tissue a cyst or a benign lump such as a fibroadenoma. when a mammogram detects a suspicious area the patient may be advised to obtain further mammograms of that area to have an ultrasound or other imaging study of the breast to see a specialist in diseases of the breast (this is usually a general surgeon) or to have a biopsy performed of the suspicious area. a breast biopsy is the removal of a piece of breast tissue for examination under a microscope. the biopsy can be performed surgically in which an incision is made and the area removed or it can be done as a stereotactic core biopsy. stereotactic core biopsy is a technique of removing samples of the suspicious area without the need for traditional surgery. in this technique the doctor with the aid of a special mammography machine and a computer can identify precisely the abnormality in the breast and then obtain very thin core samples of breast tissue with a special needle. this biopsy test is done with only a local anesthetic in the area of the needle puncture and is generally painless. fortunately most breast biopsies give benign results. while mammography is not sufficiently accurate to diagnose or exclude breast cancer alone it is currently the best method available to screen for breast cancer. since its more widespread routine use breast cancers are found when they are significantly smaller and more curable. more women are surviving breast cancer as a result of mammography and early cancer treatment. continued use of routine mammography should be encouraged until a better alternative in breast cancer detection has been found.
what if the mammogram is abnormal?