If you’ve ever been asked to come back for additional testing after a routine mammogram, you know that the experience can be nerve-wracking. What did the radiologist find? Does this mean you have breast cancer?
The good news: most irregular findings turn out to be nothing, and additional testing is often a precautionary measure.
But to better understand why you’re being called back, here are five terms you might be given as the reason.
Focal asymmetry
Focal asymmetry is the most common reason for needing a repeat mammogram. It describes an abnormality or small area of concern in your breast.
Breasts are made up of glandular tissues, fat, blood vessels, and fibrous tissues that hold everything together. Changes of density in one of these could be so subtle that they don’t quite meet the criteria to be called a mass, a cyst or any other type of nameable lesion. But they still need a closer look.
Based on data from the 1990s, up to 3% of all women have at least one area of focal asymmetry in their breasts. But with the increased sensitivity of current imaging, that figure is much higher today.