QuestionI am 44 years old with 2 children. I have no family history of breast cancer but I have smoked for over 20 years. My first mammogram has produced some concern to my physician and I am scheduled for a followup mammogram in 3 weeks.
In the meantime, I am curious if a chronic Mastitis condition after the delivery of my second child might have created scar tissue that might be what is causing concern in the mammography results?
AnswerDear Kim, It is possible, but it is also possible that it is not scar tissue, but something else... I assume that you have a mammogram done every year and if this is true, then this cause for concern would be that there is something on the mammogram that was not there before... If you just started having mammograms (mammograms should be started at age 39) then radiologists and physcians know that there is something there that is not normal and what to check it out further... There is a rare type of breast cancer called inflammatory carcinoma that mimics mastitis and therefore women with mastitis episodes may think they have another episode with mastitis while infact, it is the inflammatory carcinoma....
Right now there is no way to tell exactly what the doctor thinks this may be unless you come right out and ask him/her and demand that he/she be up front with you... You MUST have the mammogram follow-up... You may also even have to have an ultrasound or a spot cone compression of that area, biopsy, surgical removal biopsy, etc.... Do what ever this doctor wants you to do inorder to make a proper diagnosis of the problem... If this IS a benign condition that will be good and will also set the stage for future mammograms because this benign condition will be noted incase it appears in future mammograms... If not a benign condition, finding out the exact type of malignancy this is and treating it sooner rather than later is the best...
thank you, karen
