Biopsy Update
2 August 2007, 4:51 PM

The first time I posted about possibly getting a biopsy because of an abnormal mammogram, I actually didn't intend to post it here! It was an accident - I emailed my blog at the same time that I emailed a few of my friends. But since I did post it, and people responded, I decided to leave it after just cleaning it up a bit. Now I've got some updates.

First of all, I had to go back to my primary care physician who then referred me to a "general and vascular surgeon". I met with him this week. He took a look at my mammograms and the sonograms, did a physical and checked for the nodule. He told me he'd like to consult with the radiologist first about how best to approach it and would call me back in a couple of days. I talked to him yesterday and today and we scheduled the procedure for Wednesday of next week.

Basically, since the little bugger is so *small*, (only a centimeter or so) they going to take it all out in the process of checking to see what it is in the first place. First, they'll need to re-image it by sonogram to pinpoint the area for biopsy. From what I understand, they'll then do an FNA, or "fine needle biopsy" under local anesthetic which should provide immediate pathology results for interpretation. Next they'll do multiple "core biopsies", again under local anesthetic, removing it in the process. They'll leave a small metal clip in and send me back for another mammogram so that they can see if they've gotten it all.