It is widely known that regular screening is the main means of prevention against breast cancer.

The female population is now familiar with the necessity of monitoring the breasts through clinical examination and imaging control with mammography and ultrasound. The above circumstances, however, can only raise the suspicion.

A secure diagnosis is established by histological identification, i.e. taking material from the area of ​​interest and analyzing it in the laboratory. After all, this is what the international guidelines define.

Although in our country, women now understand the value of preventive screening with mammography or ultrasound, however, even today they face with great disbelief the possibility that their doctor recommends tissue sampling to document the diagnosis.

Many women fear that puncturing a finding may “wake it up”, cause cells to spread and make their condition worse. This belief is clearly a myth!

It is a completely safe procedure that has been carried out for many years in large centers abroad. A necessary condition is that the method is performed by specialized doctors with experience in properly organized structures.

The advantages of this method are many, given that in order to determine the correct treatment plan, a detailed knowledge of the histological characteristics of any lesion is essential and necessary.
In the past, patients had to undergo surgery and a rapid biopsy in order to obtain the valuable diagnostic information.

Today this procedure is performed at the outpatient clinic level. It lasts only a few minutes and is completely painless. With local anesthesia and the use of a special cutting needle, under imaging guidance, we can target and precisely obtain the necessary tissue sample. No skin incision is required. The patient can immediately return to her daily routine without needing any medication. The only complication, which rarely occurs, can be a small local hematoma that resolves spontaneously in a few days. The results of the histological diagnosis are available to us within 2 days. This gives us the possibility to immediately proceed with the therapeutic planning.

There are specific groups of patients for whom we expect a greater benefit if medical treatment is performed prior to surgical treatment. Large multicenter studies have shown that in certain subtypes of breast cancer, by giving preoperative treatment we achieve better therapeutic results. A necessary condition for this is to know the exact characteristics of the disease, in order to administer specialized drugs. This is achieved simply and quickly by performing a percutaneous biopsy.

With this method we have achieved the reduction of unnecessary diagnostic surgeries and the reduction of costs, while at the same time we have saved the patients from suffering, agony, pain and scars.

In modern times, the development of medical science dictates that no woman should be taken to the operating theater without a diagnosis. Surgery should only be performed for therapeutic purposes. The treatment of each patient today must be individualized and adapted to their needs. This is only achieved by tissue sampling and documented histological diagnosis prior to initiation of any treatment.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and a reminder that prevention and early screening save lives. HYGEIA and MITERA, with their new campaign, try to remind every woman how important breast screening is in preventing the disease, asking the simple question: “Have you been checked?”. So let’s make prevention our ally! Discover more here: https://www.mitera.gr/oktovrios-minas-eyaishitopoiisis-kata-toy-karkinoy-toy-mastoy/