Breast Biopsy: Understanding Your Results and Next Steps

One in every three new cancers in women in the United States is breast cancer. Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in U.S. women, after skin cancers. 

You realize that early detection dramatically increases the odds of survival. That’s why you book your breast screening mammogram each year: You want to catch any potential cancer in its earliest, most treatable, and even curable stage.

Still, you’re not prepared to learn that your mammogram was “abnormal” and that after further tests, your doctor either took or needs to take a breast biopsy. You know you’ll wait on pins and needles until your biopsy results are ready: But what do they mean, and what should you do?

Karen Mass, MD, and Joseph Calandra, MD, at Mass Medical Imaging, aren’t just expert physicians and surgeons; they’re compassionate caretakers who know that getting a breast biopsy is a stressful, confusing time. They help you understand the process, your results, and your options at our Lake Forest offices. 

What do your breast biopsy results mean, and what should you do? This brief summary can help you understand the process until you next meet with your doctor.

What happens to your biopsy?

Your doctor ordered a biopsy to remove a portion of abnormal tissue detected on a mammogram or other imaging modality. They then send the tissue to a laboratory, where a pathologist processes and analyzes it.

The pathologist looks for cancerous changes in the tissue or fluid that was removed during the biopsy. They generate a report, based on their findings and interpretations, and send it to our office within 1-2 weeks. 

If they find cancer, they tell us what type of cancer it is and what stage it’s reached. They also let us know whether it’s hormone-positive or hormone-negative (meaning whether it responds to hormone therapy or not), which helps guide our treatment recommendations.

Our expert doctors review the pathology report and correlate it with the findings the radiologist noted on your mammogram, breast ultrasound, or both. We then develop an action plan based on the combination of their findings and our interpretation.

When your result is “negative.”

As always with health tests, if your biopsy is “negative,” that’s a positive for you. Negative for cancer means that the pathologist couldn’t identify any cancerous cells in the biopsy.

In rare cases, we may need to conduct further tests or take a biopsy from another area if we strongly suspect cancer based on the radiologist’s report. However, only about 2 out of every 100 negative biopsies are false negatives. 

In almost every case, if the pathology test says that you’re cancer-free, you only had a benign tumor or growth. You don’t need any treatment or any more tests. You can go back to your regular mammogram schedule, without extra follow-ups.

When the pathologist finds cancer

If your test comes back “positive,” the good news is that we can start to treat your cancer as soon as possible. We refer you to an oncologist, who may recommend a combination of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. You might also benefit from immunotherapy, hormonal therapy, and even oral therapies.

Usually — especially if you’ve come for annual mammograms — your cancer will be caught at an early stage. When cancer is limited to the breast, you have a 99% chance of surviving for five years, as long as you undergo treatment. If the cancer has spread to your lymph nodes, your five-year relative survival rate is 86%, with treatment.

Give yourself the best chance

Nobody wants any kind of breast cancer. But the best breast cancer is an early-stage cancer that can be treated and potentially cured. That’s why we urge you so strongly to get your annual mammogram. This simple breast screening allows us to visualize even the smallest cancers, so they can be removed before they grow or spread.

Has your doctor recommended a breast biopsy? Call us today so that you can get the results you need to bring yourself peace of mind or life-saving treatment. Call our caring team at 847-235-2415 or book online via our appointment form.