PUNCTURED

So, what is Calcification? Well, there are two types:

MACROCALCIFICATIONS

These are coarse calcium deposits that form in the breast and are usually found on their own as a single lump. They’re a natural result of breast ageing and are found in half of women over the age of 50 and in about 1 in 10 of younger women. These show up as large white dots or dashes on a mammogram and are not linked with cancer. They usually don’t need any more checking or treatment.

MICROCALCIFICATIONS

These are tiny calcium deposits that show up as fine white specks on a mammogram and are usually found in an area of the breast where cells are being replaced more quickly than normal. Microcalcifactions are not usually formed because of cancer, but sometimes when a group of them are seen in one area to form a cluster, then this can be a sign of pre cancerous changes or early breast cancer.

Sam went in last Monday for her biopsy and found that she has a cluster of 8 microcalcifications in her right breast. She got called into the room and had to have a “mammogram guided core needle biopsy”. This is where they squeeze you tight in the machine (so I’m told as I don’t have experience in this area) and then perform the scan. The radiologist then goes off to check to make sure that it’s definitely a calcium deposit they have targeted (and not tissue). Once they are happy with their target, they come back to the room where they line up a thick hollow needle on a machine that, on the push of a button, punctures Sam’s breast to get the biopsy. They had to do this 8 times and it took over 2 and a half hours to complete!! When she eventually surfaced from the room, her breast and stomach were covered in blood due to the puncture wounds and Charlie, Rosie and myself had just completed our 70th lap of the hospital.

So, that’s where we are at the moment. We’re due to meet the breast consultant tomorrow afternoon (10th June) to get the results and find out if any of the lumps are cancerous (pre or full) or whether they are just lumps on lumps.

I just hope there’s no small talk.