Mammogram callback for Ultrasound?

[Simba's Mom]

I'm freaking out, so I hope I make sense. After over 30 years of normal mammograms, I got my first callback today. Apparently they want an ultrasound of my right breast due to some changes. And one thing that amazes me is how no one seems to think this all has to be done tomorrow! The nurse wanted to know my availability for an appointment, so I gave her the times I had other plans next week, then said "That should be enough, right?" She just said "If not, I'll just make it for after that. After that? Has anyone been called back for an ultrasound after a mammogram?

 

[MyDogTink]

The radiologist called me back following my mammogram after I had my daughter. Not sure if pregnancy changed things. I freaked out and called my obstetrician who wasn’t overly concerned but said to have the ultrasound. I believe they said I have dense tissue which could obscure masses on the X-ray.

Now I just schedule a mammogram and ultrasound each year. Insurance only fully covers the ultrasound if I’m called back but I have limited time so I just pay more to have both tests done at the same time

 

[MyDogTink]

Forgot to say Good Luck!

 

[VGCgroupie]

The breast imaging industry can be very very frustrating. Im so sorry. There is a good likelihood that after ultrasound they will also want a biopsy. Dont let that alarm you, it's common. Living with anxiety is no fun I would just tell them you want the soonest appt available and to notify you if something sooner comes up. Good luck!

 

[DanceDisney23]

It happened to me last year, and yes it is incredibly stressful. It turned out there was a small spec on the mammogram they couldn’t make sense of. The ultrasound results came back as “probably benign”, which doesn’t sound terribly reassuring either.

My OB, however, told me it was nothing to worry about and that the imaging people are just being extra cautious. I now get mammograms every 6 months just as a precaution.

I did a ton of googling (probably shouldn’t have) and found that most of the time, it’s nothing to worry about. That doesn’t mean that breast cancer doesn’t happen, of course. But I hope you’re in the majority of women who got a follow up and just had a wonky mammogram. Fingers crossed!

 

[Gracedis1]

That has happened to me twice due to dense breasts. Everything was fine. I did not enjoy the ultrasound though. She pushed down pretty hard right over the most sensitive area and it hurt. I don't think mammograms are painful at all.

 

[Dug720]

I've had it happen before. I was not able to get in for about a month - so understandably I called my doctor. She had the report and said in my case she saw nothing in the report that was different, but the radiology place had a new person reading the mammograms and they were kicking EVERYTHING back for extra scrutiny. Everything was fine. Exactly as my doctor said.

I do know my girls are dense and sometimes things shift a bit.

So try to relax. I'd say odds are good it will be fine. And if not, hopefully it's caught early.

 

[brockash]

I'm freaking out, so I hope I make sense. After over 30 years of normal mammograms, I got my first callback today. Apparently they want an ultrasound of my right breast due to some changes. And one thing that amazes me is how no one seems to think this all has to be done tomorrow! The nurse wanted to know my availability for an appointment, so I gave her the times I had other plans next week, then said "That should be enough, right?" She just said "If not, I'll just make it for after that. After that? Has anyone been called back for an ultrasound after a mammogram?

I had my first call back last yr. It was totally fine...they scheduled it about 3 weeks out. I know it's hard, but try to stay positive...very decent chance it's nothing.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I get MRIs for BRCA2 and used to get ultrasounds instead of mammos when I was young. I suspect it might be that there is something that looks like they want to watch, like a thickening that is likely due to hormones and probably completely normal for you, and so an untrasound helps them map it to distinguish from other things over time. The more info the better with these things and the lack of urgency sounds like this more about creating a database of understanding than anything else. Still, if you are worried request a virtual with your Dr to discuss.

 

[bjscheel]

Yes and it was fine. I am "fibrous" or dense so it's just hard to see. DD27 also just had to do this.

 

[LoveDaisy]

Yes. This happens every every 2-3 visits. I also have dense breasts and they can’t always get clear images. While I’m aware that is most likely the issue I am always nervous. I had cancer years ago and due to where I was radiated I am more likely to develop breast cancer. I remind myself it is better to be checked and have anything caught early. Good luck!

 

[barkley]

happened to me 2 years ago. I was told it was b/c my breast tissue had become a bit more dense which can happen as we age. no problems with it or concerns. I fully expected the same to happen this year but was told it was not needed b/c they had the scan from last year as a point of reference and there were no changes between last year's mammogram and this year's.

 

[loves to dive]

Just about every time I have a mammogram I have to go back for an ultrasound. Heck, the last two times they just went ahead and did the ultrasound at the same time. I have really dense breasts and have lumps in them. I've even had biopsys on both. Just "junk" as the doctor calls it. This last time I got a call back on my ultrasound for another ultrasound. My doctor said she didn't understand why they were calling me back since the call back said looks normal but dense. Since I have a history of dense since the very first ultrasound (maybe 15 or 20 years ago) she recommended I didn't go unless I just wanted to. I didn't go. My last ultrasound (about 2 months ago) was weird one where you lay on your stomach and a disc rotates under your breast. The tech said they do that for dense breasts. Weird and oddly uncomfortable. I freaked out the first time they recommended a biopsy, now I don't even blink an eye and frankly, sometimes just say nope. Years ago my OBGYN finally admitted to me that they were recommending surgery for a paploma (which I had already had a biopsy on) because they didn't want to get sued if years down the road it showed up cancer. So, no evidence of cancer, the doc who did the biopsy even said she got it all and they were recommending surgery. When I asked the surgeon why, he said "because I said so". I just looked at him like he was crazy, told him he was not my father and "because I said so" was not a good reason and walked out. Do go back for the ultrasound but don't freak out too much. Good luck.

 

[WDWEPCOT]

Good luck takes me Advil before you go that ultrasound is not comfortable it’s a little uncomfortable to the point it’s almost painful it’s probably nothing I know that’s not reassuring but I had the same thing happen because my tissue is almost dense it’s not quite dense but almost And no they were in no hurry to get it done I was
I think the thing that freaked me out the most was when she got done doing the ultrasound she left the room to go get a doctor and I mean I freaked out and the doctor came in and I was like totally freaked out and she’s like oh I just have to verify what she she looked at and I said you shouldn’t do it that way you should tell somebody this I literally thought you were gonna come in here and tell me some horribly bad news I said you all me know your procedures but I don’t and that is a horrible thing to do to somebody I said you don’t leave and say I gotta go get a doctor that leaves a patient thinking something was found that’s horribly wrong from the ultrasound I was so upset that they you know did me like that and the doctor just looked at me like I was crazy and I’m just like this may be perfectly normal for you to be doing it like this every day but when somebody is laying here worried to death that they have got breast cancer and you say I gotta go get a doctor it just is not very reassuring they didn’t seem to think it was anything of concern the way they were handling things
I wish you the best of luck and I’m sure it’s just them being an extra cautious !!

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I've had call backs for ultrasounds at least twice. I have dense tissue. I'm on another forum and this topic comes up frequently.