We read screening mammograms within 24 hours of your appointment. We send a letter to your home and to your doctor as soon as possible, always within three days of your appointment.

The suspicious area turned out to be nothing to worry about, and you can return to your normal mammogram schedule. The area is probably nothing to worry about, but you should have your next mammogram sooner than normal – usually in about 6 months – to watch it closely and make sure it’s not changing over time.

Getting called back after a screening mammogram is pretty common but can be scary. But getting called back does not mean you have breast cancer. It means that the doctors have found something they want to look at more closely. If you get called back, it’s usually to take new pictures or get other tests.

But, it’s important to remember: You may still get called back after a 3D mammogram for additional views. It just means that the radiologist needs more information on a particular area in the breast. It is common to get called back for something that ends up not being cancer.

If you have an abnormal screening mammogram: In the U.S., about 10-12 percent of women are called back after a mammogram for more tests. It’s always a good idea to follow up with your doctor about what to do next.

However, it usually takes a day or two for the radiologist to look at the images and then another couple of days for the radiologist’s dictation to be typed. This means your primary care doctor often has the results back 3 to 4 days after your mammogram.

Getting called back after a screening mammogram is pretty common but can be scary. But getting called back does not mean you have breast cancer. It means that the doctors have found something they wan to look at more closely.

When you have dense breasts, an ultrasound along with the mammogram is the most accurate screening test you can have. Remember to book your annual mammogram at Stamford Health’s Breast Center. You can choose from one of four convenient locations.

In fact, most repeat mammograms do not find cancer. What will happen at the follow-up appointment? You’ll likely get another mammogram called a diagnostic mammogram. (Your previous mammogram was called a screening mammogram.)

The radiologist (doctor who reads the mammogram) sees calcifications or a mass (which could be a cyst or solid mass). The radiologist sees an area that just looks different from other parts of the breast. Sometimes when more x-rays are taken of the area or mass, or the area is compressed more, it no longer looks suspicious.