Hi Sandynoshoes

I also had calcifications on my first ever mammogram, when I was recalled I was shown the mammograms and saw the calcifications on both breasts. I had lots of them, they thought only one breast's calcifications were DCIS (Ducal Carcoma In Situ) www.cancerresearchuk.org/.../ductal-carcinoma-in-situ-dcis

and the other breast's calcifications looked normal. Both breasts had DCIS 

I underwent surgery to remove my DCIS as it was 'high-grade', then radiotherapy, followed by hormone therapy to reduce estrogen as this feeds my type of cancer.

Post op, they found invasive cancer but luckily this was small amounts.

So in answer to your question, yes they have some idea of what abnormal calcifications look like but won't know their actual make-up until pathology examines them.

I know how worrying this can be but I doubt you have to worry about not being here for your son and granddaughter. 

Hang on in there, you don't have long to wait for the results and then you can take back some control over your life.

Best wishes x

Thank you so much for your reply Magpiemaggie

I appreciate the link you sent also.

I hope you are doing well. 

I received a call yesterday telling me my appointment for tomorrow (Thursday) has been cancelled so have to wait until the 22nd of July.

I'm going to call the specialist nurse this morning as I couldn't quite understand the person who called me and what she was saying, there was a bit of a language barrier. 

Thank you so much again x

Hi Sandy

Sorry you are so worried and went through all of this. I too went for a mammogram in January after feeling a strange small gristly lump that on examination 'felt benign' and ended up being told I had a large area of calcifications that looked suspicious. I literally fell apart and was in tears as my mind took me to the darkest place. I was lucky enough to be private so had my results 4 days later. In the 4 day period I researched what calcifications meant and why they would ever be classed as suspicious. It prepared me for my results. Basically, anyone can get calcifications as they age and they are expected to be seen on a mammogram. But if they are clustered together, they usually indicate DCIS as MagpieMaggie has mentioned. This means that some cells have turned malignant within your milk ducts, BUT they have not escaped to the local breast area. It is good that no actual lumps were felt or seen. Hopefully if you do have DCIS and no invasive, then it can be treated well. I ended up having a large area of DCIS but also two small areas of invasive. DCIS is classed as stage zero and in many cases will never ever escape the ducts. The percentages of it escaping are quite low, but it all depends on the grade that they give the DCIS. I am grade 3 which is high grade and it simply means you have a higher chance than grade 1 or 2, that it will escape the duct at some point in the future. Most standard care at any grade is to remove the area of DCIS, but there is also a study called the COMET study I believe, whereby if you are only grade 1 and sometimes for grade 2, you will be allowed to just monitor and not perform any surgery. Please be assured that if it even is DCIS, then you don't need to panic. But only the biopsy results will confirm this. I wish you all the best - I am sure you will be absolutely OK no matter what. Always happy to talk and would love to hear how you get on after biopsy results. Take care xx

Hello

 i have just had biopsy's today, lots of cysts found as well now need to wait until 30th for the results.. 

how are you doing ? 

Hi ShonaW

I'm fine, are the biopsies for the cysts or is something else there also? 

Hello

no they took biopsies of the calcifications. X 

Try not to worry, calcifications can be normal or DCIS of different grades. Hopefully yours will be fine. 

I'm 4 years on and life returned to normal very quickly, I hardly think about it now.

Keep us up to date and here if you need us x

Update.

it's is cancer early stage DCIS intermediate will have mastectomy and reconstruction. 

Hi

Sorry just seen this. Thanks for the update. Hope you're okay and I'm here if you want to chat x