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How Often Can You Get a Breast Abnormality Imaged?

Johns Hopkins University
By Lillie Shockney, R.N., M.A.S. - Posted on Mon, Nov 24, 2008, 12:51 pm PST

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I get this question a lot: "Can I get a mammogram or MRI in 3 months, rather than waiting the usual 6 months that's recommended?"

My short answer is, no, wait the 6 months. Why? Because being able to see a change on a breast imaging study does actually require time, a lot of time. Three months is too short a time to see what may only be a subtle change; 6 months is more appropriate timing.

Afraid you will go nuts while waiting to learn if the area they are "watching" is in fact something that could harm you? Then take your imaging studies to another radiologist, one who specializes in breast imaging, for a second-opinion reading. If he or she agrees that the abnormality is probably not cancer, and if he or she concurs that re-evaluating it in 6 months is the right thing to do, then you should wait out the 6 months.

Bide your time doing other things — enjoying life and spending time with your family. And, since you now have a little fox-hole religion, how about making appointments to get a colonoscopy, a Pap smear, a general physical exam, an eye exam, and all the rest? By the time you have completed all those tests, those 6 months will have passed!

And, we hope, when you return for your 6-month follow-up, they tell you that they see "no change," and all is well.

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