J
Hello, I am not sure where you are from, but I might actaully be able to help/give useful information 2 you. I am a registered mammographer in the state of Missouri. Our state and I am sure many others offer free mammograms, and other testing to those patients that can not afford the cost. There are certain financial guidlines that must be met. You could also consider just right out asking for help from a local clinic/or your primary care physician, they too will offer free services to patients in need.
I am uncertain of the discription of the mammogram finding you described. I could provide you with useful information if I knew the exact wording of the report. I mean do you have calcifications,arcitectural distortions..ect. are they increasing in number...or are they stable? Have you had a breast ultrasound, spot compression, or magnification views? Do you have any palpable lumps or nipple discharge. Breast pain should never be ignored, but that alone is not really an extremely worrisome symptom.
I would however be interested the the reason they are following you. I can tell you that radiologists are typically very aggressive in their recommendations for mammography. If they suspect there is something ...they will follow it, but they do not hesitate for one second to come right out and recommend biopsy for any suspicious finding. So the fact that they are comfortable following you at 6 month intervals is very positive. You should however always try to follow their recommnedations.
Many, many women have areas of tissue in their breasts that are different than the surrounding breast tissue....but, radiologists dont always know that this is just the way you were made shall we say!!! So they follow it every 3 or 6 months for a while if it doesn;t chage it is most likely benign..."NOT CANCER" . Please feel free to contact me with any questions. I would be more than happy to help you/anyone in any way I can.
Kim