My Experience

At the clinic, I striped down to the waist and put on a robe. The technician cleaned off my breast and found the spot in question on a sonogram. She then marked it with a pen. The doctor came in and showed me a large needle. He spoke to me and then told me that they take about 4 plugs to get enough samples to evaluate for cancer. They use a needle and then put another needle inside that removes the samples. In this way, they do not need to take the large needle in and out every time they take a sample. He told me only one needle hole would be made in the skin. He then told me that he would give me lidocaine to numb that area and I wouldn’t feel any pain from the biopsy. He was right. The lidocaine pinched a tiny bit and then my right side went kind of numb. I felt pressure from the other needle going in, but did not feel anything. Once the doctor and the technician found the spot using the sonogram, the doctor put the other needle inside the larger needle to take samples. He showed me how each time it takes a plug it will make a loud pop. I closed my eyes the whole time and did not even feel a thing. I heard the pop, but it didn’t mean anything.

I felt fine after the procedure, but was told not to lift anything to prevent further damage to the area. I needed to sleep with a bra on to prevent my breast weight from making the area hurt more. The next day I showered. After showering, I took off a band-aid and put on antibiotic ointment and then put on a new band-aid. By the third day, I did not need a band-aid. I am waiting for my biopsy results.