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My mum recently had her routine mammogram and I’m really anxious

justyouraveragevirgo
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My mum recently had her routine mammogram and has now received a letter asking her to go back for some more tests.

I know being called back doesn’t automatically mean something is wrong, and I’ve read that this can happen because they want a closer look at something or need additional images, but I’m struggling not to worry about it.

I suffer with health anxiety, so my mind is obviously jumping to the worst-case scenario, even though I know there could be many completely harmless reasons she’s been called back.

Has anyone else in the UK had this happen after a routine breast screening? What happened when you went back for the additional tests?

I’m probably just looking for some reassurance and other people’s experiences while we wait for her appointment.

  • Offline in reply to justyouraveragevirgo

    Hi Justyouraveragevirgo,

    I am glad to hear that your mum  is doing well and that you are happy with the care that she is receiving. I'm not sure how often such biopsies tend to remain cancer free second time around, but I know that it can and does happen. Perhaps that's a question for the nurses, as they should have the data to hand? They should also be able to give you other reasons for a biopsy being abnormal, when it's not cancer.

    It is reassuring to hear that your mum's care team are leaving no stone unturned with her diagnosis. This is far better than being given the all clear, only to find that something has been overlooked further down the line.

    I don't know what age your mum is, but our blood vessels can become more precocious as we get older, which may account for her discomfort after the last biopsy was taken. I hope that the next one is plain sailing.

    Thank you for your lovely comments in respect of my keeping in touch. I am delighted to hear that this has helped to ease your anxiety, even if just a little.

    I look forward to hearing the outcome of the next biopsy.

    Kind regards,

    Jolamine xx

  • Offline in reply to Jolamine

    My mum is in her mid 60s so that does make sense with the discomfort and bleeding she had with her last biopsy. 

    I'll definitely get Mum to ask the nurses what an abnormal result can mean, and what the odds are. Her appointment is tomorrow morning, so I'm feeling very anxious, even though I know we probably won't get any results for another few weeks. 

    I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again for being there.

  • Offline in reply to justyouraveragevirgo

    Hi,

    I'm glad to hear that you don't have much longer to wait and I hope that your mum's care team can answer some of your questions. Don't be afraid to ask about anything that you don't understand - no question is too silly or insignificant, if it worries you. You will have to wait longer if she has another biopsy, but let's hope that they can get any results to you both soon.

    I shall be thinking of you both tomorrow and I sincerely hope that all goes well.

    Kind regards,

    Jolamine xx

  • Offline in reply to Jolamine

    My mum has had her appointment. They took another biopsy, she said it wasn’t as bad as last time and didn’t bleed like last time which is good.

    She asked the nurse how likely is it that it’s anything sinister and the nurse said that she is pretty confident that it’s not but she obviously can’t say for definite. 

    Also my mum asked about the abnormal result and the nurse said it’s quite common as your breast is full of tissue, so that will flag up as abnormal. The nurse described it as if you had eczema and you took a biopsy of it, it would come back abnormal because it’s not ‘normal skin’. I hope that makes sense to you and I may be missing parts of how she described it to us but that is the general idea of how she explained how an abnormal result could happen if it wasn’t cancer. 

    I’m feeling a-lot better after hearing what the nurse had to say, obviously she’s not 100% sure and only the biopsy will tell. I will keep you updated in the next few weeks when she gets her biopsy back. Thank you again for taking the time to reply and support me through all of this :) 

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