Janet Didn't Want To Wait For A Biopsy

Janet, 43, was preparing for breast implant surgery. She wanted to restore symmetry to her breasts due to a lumpectomy 15 years earlier on a suspicious mass in her right breast. Janet had been diagnosed with fibrocystic breast tissue, and she always felt that her breasts were "lumpy." In self-exams she was often worried that she would not be able to feel a change easily. Regular mammograms remained clear and Janet stayed mindful and diligent about her self-exams.

Shortly before her scheduled breast implant surgery, Janet felt a new lump in her left breast. She went immediately to have a mammogram. A nurse practitioner indicated that the lump was likely a fluid-filled cyst that could be aspirated, but three other spots on the mammogram created cause for concern.

Her radiologist gave her mammogram a BIRADS IV rating based on these new areas-of-concern. This rating is used to indicate that the abnormality has a low, but not negligible risk of being malignant and biopsy is frequently needed to differentiate benign from malignant tissue.

Janet was unable to get a biopsy appointment for three weeks. With great concern, and a long wait ahead of her, Janet was scared. "The waiting was the most awful part. I couldn't have the biopsy done for three weeks, and then would have to wait longer for results. It was almost unbearable," she said.

Fortunately, Janet was able to schedule a BSGI procedure with the Dilon 6800® at a site in Washington, D.C. Within days after her suspicious mammogram, Janet underwent the molecular breast imaging procedure. Within an hour she received the answer she was looking for: she was cancer-free according to the Dilon 6800 BSGI results.

"The test was simple, comfortable, painless — much more comfortable than a mammogram. I felt very comfortable with the results and reassured by the data. I felt that if there had been anything malignant there, then we would have seen it," she said.

Janet was advised to proceed with the biopsy, due to the suspicious nature of the mammogram results. Janet's biopsy results proved negative for cancer however, Janet is now considered at higher risk for developing cancer.

Since Janet proceeded with receiving breast implants, BSGI could prove to be an important part of her screening routine in addition to regular mammograms. Besides the fibrocystic breast tissue, Janet's implants could obscure a mammogram image. The BSGI procedure can see cancerous cells, regardless of their position in the breast or tissue density.

"I would recommend the BSGI procedure to anyone with a concern. When you are faced with the possibility of breast cancer, you want quick answers. Waiting for biopsy and the results is truly nerve-wracking, to put it lightly. The immediacy of BSGI was the most beneficial part for me," Janet said.