Had one of these today. Just thought I’d write up here what happened in case anyone ever does a search about it.
I’ve had a bread lump biopsied before, this was really different. The consultant had warned me, so not a total surprise. But it def felt a lot more full on.
My appointment was meant to be 1.5 hours but it took two hours by the time I’d had some sweet tea after.
Started off with normal mammogram (standing) so they could check where they were going to biopsy.
Then I had to lie on my side on a bed, which they positioned so my breast was always in mammogram machine. I think i was in the machine for maybe half an hour. I was worried about pain of continuously being in mammogrammed, but actually it was okay cause I’d been prepared for it. It was quite hard to remain stable on my side at edge of the bed.
Then had local injections and they marked the area. The biopsy itself was different from lump biopsy. Instead of being like a gun collecting individual samples, it went in once and then turned like a clock to scoop an area. The doctors explained this, and it was really useful to know. Felt it happening but not painful. Knowing that the sample was being collected with a rotational movement helped me understand the sensation.
They then took a second sample, so same thing again. Not sure if this is standard. Then they put a marker in.
I was so relieved to get out the mammogram machine, but the next part was really painful. They applied hard hand pressure to the breast for ten minutes. This was to avoid blood pooling in the area where sample had been removed. Even though I’d been told about this beforehand, I was totally unprepared for how firm the pressure would be. Then I had to apply pressure myself for another five minutes.
Then I had to go back into the mammogram machine for a quick check on the placement of the marker.
After that, breast was dressed and all done. They gave me a cup of tea, and I had to wait for ten minutes before they would let me go.