Mammogram callback?

[japanese maple]

Hi,

I'm nervous and don't want to scare my people in my life.

I had my first mammogram last week (50 yrs old). No symptoms. I was told that many women get called back for the first mammo, and today it happened to me.

There is one area of a "focal asymmetry" on the right. No calcifications or distortions in either breast. Benign appearing lymph nodes in both axillae. Only scattered areas of fibro glandular density, but not overall dense. I have to go for a diagnostic and possible ultrasound in two weeks.

I'm really frightened. Anyone go through something similar?

 

[mom2rtk]

First mammogram at 40. Sent for biopsy and it was benign. Scary stuff, but all you can do is see it through. It's always better to know for sure.

Next time, see if you can find an imaging center that does additional testing on the spot. It really reduces the anxiety.

Odds are it will be nothing since they are just looking for the first time. Just see it through. Big hugs!

 

[Suger Mag]

Hi,

I'm nervous and don't want to scare my people in my life.

I had my first mammogram last week (50 yrs old). No symptoms. I was told that many women get called back for the first mammo, and today it happened to me.

There is one area of a "focal asymmetry" on the right. No calcifications or distortions in either breast. Benign appearing lymph nodes in both axillae. Only scattered areas of fibro glandular density, but not overall dense. I have to go for a diagnostic and possible ultrasound in two weeks.

I'm really frightened. Anyone go through something similar?

I had something like that, also on my first

think of your first as a baseline, they do not have anything to compare to, so if they see anything 'interesting", then they want to examine it further with ultrasound. interesting can be anything that is different, not a tumor per say.... but maybe an area with the potential... or something totally mellow like a slow growing cyst
The ultrasound will look at its characteristics, take measurements and then depending on what they see....they may offer you a choice of a biopsy and/or a series of ultrasounds every six months for a couple of years to keep an eye on it and chart the growth.

They thought mine was a cyst, and I did not want to have a biopsy, so based on their thoughts I went with the ultrasounds for two years... just had my last one with the latest mammo and got the final clear that my "asymmetry was a cyst that had not grown at all during that time

 

[bluezy]

Hi,

I'm nervous and don't want to scare my people in my life.

I had my first mammogram last week (50 yrs old). No symptoms. I was told that many women get called back for the first mammo, and today it happened to me.

There is one area of a "focal asymmetry" on the right. No calcifications or distortions in either breast. Benign appearing lymph nodes in both axillae. Only scattered areas of fibro glandular density, but not overall dense. I have to go for a diagnostic and possible ultrasound in two weeks.

I'm really frightened. Anyone go through something similar?

((hugs)) I just went through this a few months ago (though I've been getting mammograms for well over 15 years already and all of them have been normal.). I was a mess. My initial mammogram results were basically the same as yours. Fortunately, I had a previously scheduled yearly exam with my GYN about 2 weeks after my initial mammogram results came in. She did a thorough exam and said she did not feel anything unusual or concerning, but I should still follow through with the diagnostic mammogram with contrast and u/s. Our health network schedules both of those tests at the same time so they don't need to call you back *again* if something still doesn't look right on the diagnostic mammogram. I was thankful for that. They did end up needing to do an u/s for me but everything was normal and I just have to go back in a year for my standard yearly mammogram. The nice thing about the breast health center I went to for the follow-up testing is that they have a doctor there who reads the results immediately, so I knew my results were normal when I left the office. If they wouldn't have been normal, they have a team there to help you get started with the next steps.

The diagnostic mammogram with contrast and the u/s were easy and no worse than a normal mammogram or u/s.

My doctor told me that a really high percentage of women are called back additional testing after the screening mammogram. It's because the 3D mammograms are so much more detailed that they pick up things that weren't ever noticed before. She said she has seen statistics saying as high as 75% of women who get screening mammograms are called back for additional testing, but a very small percentage of those called back actually have any issues. One of the main reasons for a callback is just a poorly/improperly done screening pictures. Dense breast tissue is another big one. I know that a few years ago, my mammogram tech was looking at the screening pictures to make sure she had gotten all the angles/shots she needed and she said, "Don't panic, but I want to redo the one set of pictures. This doesn't mean anything is wrong. But I can see some shadowy areas and I know the radiologist is going to want a clearer shot. I'd rather have you stay here another 2 minutes so I can redo those than have you get the phone call that you need to come back for further testing. No need for undue stress." I didn't think much about it then, but I really appreciate her thoroughness now.

I hope you're able to get your next mammogram set up soon so you don't have to stress about it for weeks. The important thing is to follow-up and get the tests. Good luck with everything!

 

[japanese maple]

Thanks all. I keep sitting here spiraling, worrying if it's already spread and I'm too late.

We are such a happy little unit and this is just upsetting both of us. Although my husband is trying his best to relax me.

 

[Dug720]

I've gotten called back for an ultrasound once. In this case the doctor reading the mammos at the place I went was new to them and was HYPER vigilant. I called my regular doctor to see if I needed to try to move up my callback when it was like 3-4 weeks later and she assured me that there was nothing in the report that she saw that indicated anything different than my past ones. She told me later that I was like the 10th person she'd had get a callback from this doctor and that all of us were just very fibrous. All turned out ok.

It might be worth calling your doctor to see what they see in the report.

 

[mjkacmom]

I think it’s more common to be called back than not. I think I was called back 75% of the time, u/s, biopsy, re-do, most of my friends have as well. Don’t borrow worry, it’s not healthy.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I got a call back with my very first one as well. I panicked, but it turned out to be nothing.

 

[AgentMama]

My doctor told me that a really high percentage of women are called back additional testing after the screening mammogram. It's because the 3D mammograms are so much more detailed that they pick up things that weren't ever noticed before. She said she has seen statistics saying as high as 75% of women who get screening mammograms are called back for additional testing, but a very small percentage of those called back actually have any issues.

The callback rate for a breast imager shouldn't be higher than 10-12%. No facilities have 75% callback rates, they'd be flagged for poor quality and/or billing fraud.

 

[imbelle]

I've been called back at least 3 or 4 times and once for a biopsy. At the biopsy, the nurse told me that about 80% of the biopsies they do come up negative. That seemed like an over cautious approach to me but I guess not if you're in the 20%.

 

[japanese maple]

The callback rate for a breast imager shouldn't be higher than 10-12%. No facilities have 75% callback rates, they'd be flagged for poor quality and/or billing fraud.

Actually my hospital said first mammograms have an over 90% callback rate. Especially since mammography detection has gotten more advanced.

It's the phrase "focal asymmetry" that's freaking me out.

 

[bluezy]

The callback rate for a breast imager shouldn't be higher than 10-12%. No facilities have 75% callback rates, they'd be flagged for poor quality and/or billing fraud.

Ok, I guess something else was 75%. Sorry. But I do know that once I started mentioning it to my friends, a large number of them have had an abnormal mammo at some point and we definitely aren't all in the same health network -- so different doctors, different imaging centers, etc. Maybe the statistic was 75% of women have an abnormal mammo at some point in their lives???? I do know that the doctor said there has been an increase in abnormal mammos/false positivies due to the improvements in screening equipment.

 

[bluezy]

Actually my hospital said first mammograms have an over 90% callback rate. Especially since mammography detection has gotten more advanced.

It's the phrase "focal asymmetry" that's freaking me out.

Maybe that's where I got the statistic from. And mine was focal asymmetry, too. It's a common finding. Try not to stress about it (I know, easier said than done). You'll have a clearer picture (no pun intended) in 2 weeks.

Have you talked to your GYN yet? Mine really put my mind at ease about the whole thing. I probably would have gained 15 pounds from stress eating if I hadn't been able to talk to her shortly after getting the results. I still had to wait 3 weeks after seeing her before getting my diagnostic tests.

 

[design_mom]

Got called back for my first one. My sister did too. I had two ultrasounds afterward before they "cleared" me. I have had three more yearly mammograms since then and they haven't called me back since that first one. (Apparently now that they have a "baseline" they can more easily tell what's concerning and what's "just me.")

 

[focusondisney]

Thanks all. I keep sitting here spiraling, worrying if it's already spread and I'm too late.

We are such a happy little unit and this is just upsetting both of us. Although my husband is trying his best to relax me.

I’m 67 & had my first call back in fall 2023. I know exactly how you feel because I had the same reading & got just as scared as you are. I had gotten a phone call to come back for more images but the appointment wasn’t for a month. I’m a retired RN & did all kinds of googling/ researching on a diagnosis of focal asymmetry during that time.

At the 2nd appointment I had a mammogram then the US. The tech came back after a few minutes & took me for a 3rd mammogram. She said the radiologist didn’t see anything unusual on the 1 she had just done & wanted another to make sure. That 1 & the US were also normal. So I had nothing to worry about.

I’m not sure what the issue with the 1st 1 was. But at the time it was done, I did have more discomfort as that side was being done. I just think the tech might have not positioned me correctly causing some distortion. Because of my age I’m now on a 2 year screening. But the next time I’ll go to a facility that reads it right away & not put myself thru the anxiety again.

My daughter is 40 & had her 1st mammogram in November. She also had a call back. Fortunately hers was scheduled within a few days. The repeat & US were normal, just some dense tissue & a few cysts. She wa nervous, but thankfully she didn’t have to wait too long for the repeat testing.

I’m sending lots of positive thoughts your way. Try to keep busy & not get too deep into all the bad things it could mean. Chances are good there’s nothing wrong at all. And if there is an issue, that’s the time to research & make a plan.

 

[mom2rtk]

The callback rate for a breast imager shouldn't be higher than 10-12%. No facilities have 75% callback rates, they'd be flagged for poor quality and/or billing fraud.

Probably not 75%, but I bet a huge percentage of first mammograms have call backs.

With 2 scary biopsies in my past, it took me some time to let them convince me to get the 3D mammogram. I was irrationally concerned they would see more things they had to investigate. Thankfully I've had one the last 2 or 3 years and that hasn't been the case.

 

[Psymonds]

Hi,

I'm nervous and don't want to scare my people in my life.

I had my first mammogram last week (50 yrs old). No symptoms. I was told that many women get called back for the first mammo, and today it happened to me.

There is one area of a "focal asymmetry" on the right. No calcifications or distortions in either breast. Benign appearing lymph nodes in both axillae. Only scattered areas of fibro glandular density, but not overall dense. I have to go for a diagnostic and possible ultrasound in two weeks.

I'm really frightened. Anyone go through something similar?

DW had a similar callback last year, the asymmetry meaning that something was showing up on one angle but not another, she felt the same as you, went to the callback and they read it right there, all clear.

 

[PollyannaMom]

It's the phrase "focal asymmetry" that's freaking me out.

That can be caused by something as simple as where you are in your menstrual cycle.

I know it's reeeeally hard to "just not worry" - but try to distract yourself with other stuff while you wait for the more detailed test.

A lot of us have been there.

 

[willowsnn3]

I have never been called back but one of my daughters & one of my sisters get called back every time.

 

[Frwinkley]

After several call backs, biopsy (benign), I now go to an imaging center that doesn't let you leave until they are satisfied with the images they got. I get a 3D mammogram and a diagnostic ultrasound (dense breasts) every time I go. It takes a bit longer because the radiologist has to read the images (along with all of the other patients), but it's so worth it.