What is a biopsy?

Question

My mom told me she had to get one on her breast. Does a biopsy remove cancer cells?

Answer 1

A biopsy is a test.

If your mom is having a breast biopsy, it's probably because she found a lump. The doctor will numb your mom's breast, then use a long, thin needle to pierce the skin and go into the lump.

A small piece of tissue will be sucked up in the needle and sent to a special lab. Technicians there will put the tissue in a special preparation, on a slide, then look at it through a microscope.

The shape and size of the cells will be able to tell them if the lump is just a lump -- benign. Or if the lump is cancer -- malignant.

If the biopsy is "negative" or "benign" that's good news, and it's pretty much all over.

If the biospy is "malignant," that's bad news, and your mom will meet with her doctor to decide the next step.

If the biopsy is "undetermined," that means that there wasn't a big enough sample, or the sample wasn't clear enough. That means a new test of some sort.

Best wishes for you and your mom.

Answer 2

A biopsy (in Greek: bios = life and opsy = look/appearance) is a medical test involving the removal of cells or tissues for examination. The tissue is generally examined under a microscope by a pathologist, and can also be analyzed chemically (for example, using PCR techniques). When only a sample of tissue is removed, the procedure is called an incisional biopsy or core biopsy. When an entire lump or suspicious area is removed, the procedure is called an excisional biopsy. When a sample of tissue or fluid is removed with a needle, the procedure is called a needle aspiration biopsy.

Biopsy specimens are often taken from part of a lesion when the cause of a disease is uncertain or its extent or exact character is in doubt. Vasculitis, for instance, is usually diagnosed on biopsy. Additionally, pathologic examination of a biopsy can determine whether a lesion is benign or malignant, and can help differentiate between different types of cancer. In contrast to a biopsy that merely samples a lesion, a larger excisional specimen called a resection may come to a pathologist, typically from a surgeon attempting to eradicate a known lesion from a patient. For example, a pathologist would examine a mastectomy specimen, even if a previous nonexcisional breast biopsy had already established the diagnosis of breast cancer. Examination of the full mastectomy specimen would confirm the exact nature of the cancer (subclassification of tumor and histologic "grading") and reveal the extent of its spread (pathologic "staging").

In an excisional biopsy, the margins of the specimen may be carefully examined to see if the disease has spread beyond the area biopsied. "Clear margins," or "negative margins," means that no disease was found at the edges of the biopsy specimen. "Positive margins" means that disease was found, and additional treatment may be needed.

Answer 3

No, the biopsy is a small sample that they test to see if it is cancerous. The scary thing about biopsies is that it tests only the sample taken. There is always the chance that there is cancer there but not in that particular sample. Usually though with breasts there are masses or lumps and they take the biopsy from that area. A breast biopsy is usually pretty accurate. My mother had one done too and it turned out fine.

Answer 4

No, my mother had to get the same thing too. A biopsy is a non invasive procedure where a sample is taken from the infected area and tested to see if it is cancerous or not. It is not a surgical procedure to remove cancer cells.

Answer 5

A biopsy is a sample of cells to determine whether there is cancer.

Good luck to your mom. I might have to have one myself, would be interested to hear how it goes for her.

Answer 6

best wishes to your mom. check webmd