Breast Biopsy - An Introduction

Medical examinations are a part of a healthy living. This is because, a healthy individual not only eats and lives healthy, but also takes care of his body and under goes routine check-ups to monitor the health of various parts of the body. The breast biopsy is one such test which helps the healthcare experts to understand anomalies or abnormalities in the breasts.

This is a less complicated procedure where some tissues form the breast a collected by creating an incision. These tissues are then studied under the microscope to check for probable medical problems.

Many a times, the doctor may recommend a breast biopsy in the following circumstances:

lumps in the breast

Skin near the breast becoming coarse

The nipples exuding liquid

Pain in the chest

Besides these few reasons, breast tissues may be checked to determine the presence or absence of cancers. Most often, the main reason for a biopsy to be done is to eliminate growth of cancerous tumors or lesions once they are discovered in the body. Nevertheless, there is nothing to be worried about as an early detection helps the patient to explore various effective treatment options. In most cases, almost 80 percent of the women who get the test done do not have a cancer while on the other hand another benefit is that early cancers can be cured and treated in a way that they are not recurring.

There are various methods for the procedure to be carried out but there are only two main principles on which it is based: either Excisional or Incisional in nature. In an Excisonal biopsy the entire suspected area is separated from the body and no remnants are present. In an Incisional biopsy only a part or sample of tissue is removed from the breast and examined in the laboratory. In this type of examination, the basic network and arrangement of tissues remains the unchanged. Generally, the equipment used is medical needle which pierces into the skin of the mammary gland and removes a part of the abnormal tissue, lesion, lump or liquid.

Recovery time for a patient who has undergone a breast biopsy is brief and very soon the individual can return to routine life activities. If the reports are negative for cancer and smoother abnormality is seen, the physician will administer appropriate medication and treatment. If the report is positive for breast cancer, then the patient may need to undergo regular chemotherapy and cancer treatment procedures. Returning to regular life may be delayed in this case, but one must participate willingly and fearlessly because with new age technology and treatments, curing a cancer is certainly possible.