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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
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Breast Cancer |
Are mammogram and ultrasound 100% accurate?07/19/1998 |
i'm 35 and never have a occasinally 'poking' feeling on my left upper breast until few months ago.a clinical physician said there is a lump(physical exam) and asked for a biopsy. however, a mammogram and ultra-sound by a hospital show negative. but why i experience that irritation and is mamogram and ultrasound 100% accurate?
Breasts of women in their 20's are mostly made up of breast tissue, making them very dense. This breast tissue decreases in women in their 30's to about one-half, the other half is fat. A lump in the middle of dense breast tissue often won't show up on the mammogram because the tissue hides it. If the lump is in the fat tissue, it is more obvious on the mammogram. The chance that a mammogram will not show a lump in women in their 30's is 9-20%. So, mammograms are not 100% accurate.Ultrasound is often used to gather more information about a lesion that is found on a mammogram. It can tell the Dr. if the lesion is a cyst or a solid lump. It can show a distinct lesion with edges or mixed areas with no definite lump. The problem with the ultrasound when the mammogram does not show the lesion is that the technician cannot ultrasound the whole breast accurately. In a young breast like yours, the breast has many changes in contour and density. This makes it difficult to tell the difference between breast tissue and a lesion.
There are conditions of the breast that are not cancer but the there is no way to tell what it is unless a biopsy is done. Your physician is very accurate in asking for a biopsy. I encourage you to follow through with the recommendations of the physician to have a biopsy to find out what the lump is exactly. Thank you writing.
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Janet Trigg, RN, MSN, EdD Formerly: College of Nursing University of Cincinnati |
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