Worldwide Breast Cancer

A fine point to make.

If after a lump has been inspected and no conclusive evidence can be determined, a biopsy is usually the next step. A biopsy is a surgical procedure that uses a needle to extract part of a lump to be tested for cancer. 80% of biopsy results come back as non-cancerous. Recovery time is brief and the procedure lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, depending upon the location. Collecting and analyzing cells is really the only definitive way to diagnose cancer.

There are four types of biopsy:

Fine-needle means a skinny needle is used to collect cells from a liquid based area. This might be used to determine if a lump is just a fluid-filled cyst. If it is, the cyst will deflate and disappear. 80% of the time, a lump is found to be non-cancerous.

Core needle biopsy is needed when a skinny needle won’t do. As you may have guessed, this needle has a hollow core better able to collect a larger sample of cells in a denser area.

Stereotactic biopsy is used for a lump that can’t be felt, but is seen on a mammogram or ultrasound. Using a stereotactic method, a special x-ray allows the physician to see the area and then locate it with a needle for accuracy. Some surgeons may implant a small metal marker to show where a biopsy of this kind as been performed to explain the scar tissue on further x-rays.

Open or Surgical biopsy is used by making an incision in the skin to remove a sample or an entire lump. A needle will be used to guide the surgeon to the location being investigated. This is minimally invasive and may leave a small scar.