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.

 

[AnnaS]

Many years ago I had my first call back. All was good. I did have to start having ultrasounds also yearly (painful/I take Tylenol or Advil a little before going in). Mom had breast cancer/I have dense breasts.

A few years ago, I had to go back. Found a spot. Had biopsy - very painful. Had to have lumpectomy. This was also unbelievably painful - the procedure before the surgery. There has to be a better way .

Good luck. I bet it's nothing.

 

[bluezy]

I had a callback last year -- first time in over 20 years of mammograms. I will mention that there were a few times over the years that the original mammogram tech would look at the pictures before I left the room and had me step back to the machine to re-do a view or two. She always said something along the lines of "I'm not doing this because I see something. I'm doing this because I don't think the shot is as clear as the radiologist is going to want and then they'll call you back for additional testing. That's stressful. I'd rather re-do the shot right now." Well, that tech is no longer at the location I go to and the first time I didn't have her, I got a call back. I felt like the tech I had was a little rushed so I'm not surprised I got a call back. They scheduled me for a mammogram with contrast and an u/s at a highly specialized breast health center....for several weeks later. The scheduler apologized for having to make me wait so long for the follow-up and said that the newer mammogram machines provide very detailed results which creates a lot of follow-ups and they were usually booked out 4-5 weeks. My follow-up tests showed no issues and the "spot" they were looking at on the original mammogram was not visible on the CEM or U/S. I didn't even have to do a follow-up at 6 months -- just the normal 12 months.

I'm sorry you're having to go through the stress of waiting to do your follow-up. I totally understand. I'll also mention that when this happened to me last year and I started sharing that info with friends and family members, I heard so many women say, "Oh yeah, that happened to me, too...." that I realized this is now common. A nurse friend who works at an obgyn office said the number of women getting call backs for follow up diagnosis has gone up dramatically in the last few years but that a very high percentage of those call backs turn out to be nothing. Good luck with yours!

 

[JediBonas]

Just happened to me for the first time in August. I have dense breast so get alternating mammo+ultrasound and MRI. Haven't been great about sticking to the every six months so finally did my MRI about three months later then they wanted - got called back for a target ultrasound. Did that the following week. Then got the call they wanted to do a biopsy, they booked me in for a few days later. Biopsy wasn't nearly as bad as I was worried about but then they had to do a mammo to check the placement of the marker and couldn't find it (the biopsy was pretty far back and I'm pretty small), so that was the worst part of the entire thing them trying to get a shot of it. Ended up having to do an ultrasound to find it. Biopsy was benign.

 

[firefly_ris]

Yes. Try not to panic although I know that's hard. They now make me do an ultrasound at the same time as the mammogram, and this spring I also had to go have a biopsy done. That was freaky. Right after the mammo they put me in a separate room and had me wait for the doctor to speak with me, and then they wanted the biopsy done almost immediately. Everything turned out fine and benign. I have dense tissue and PASH which they want to keep an eye on. My mom was a mammographer for years and years, there are lots of people who have to do ultrasounds and undergo breast changes as they age that are not cancer.

 

[mjkacmom]

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’m actually surprised you’ve never been called back, I usually do.