Breast Cancer Biopsies

What to expect when your doctor recommends a breast biopsy for breast cancer.

If they recommend a biopsy it only means that you have a suspicious area in your breast.

It does not automatically mean that the suspicious area is cancer.

The biopsy is done to remove tissue from the suspicious area and then a lab will determine if the tissue is cancerous.

The 3 most common types of breast biopsies are:

1. Fine needle aspiration

2. Core needle and

3. Excisional

All 3 usually require local anesthetic which is a small injection to numb the area of the breast.

The 1st and least invasive is a fine needle aspiration in which a very thin needle attached to a syringe is used to withdraw a small amount of tissue from a suspicious area.

Most women report little to no pain with a fine needle aspiration.

The 2nd is a core needle biopsy which uses a slightly larger needle with a spring-loaded device to withdraw multiple tissue samples from a suspicious area.

Some experience bruising and mild discomfort from the clicks or buzzing sounds from the spring-loaded device.

Both of the needle biopsies take between 30 minutes to an hour for the entire procedure.

The surgeon or radiologist will use an image-guided technique such as ultrasound or mammogram.

The 3rd and is an excisional biopsy which is surgical removal of the suspicious area.

They are usually performed by a surgeon in an operating room.

The procedure generally takes two hours for the entire procedure including recovery.

You may hear someone refer to an excisional biopsy as a lumpectomy; however, a lumpectomy is a surgical removal of breast tissue as part of treatment for diagnosed breast cancer.

The doctor who performed the biopsy will send your tissue sample to a pathology lab for testing and you receive a pathology report.

Watch our video on breast cancer biopsies on YouTube https://youtu.be/RsgswW-hV1o

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