How common is it to be called back for more tests after a routine mammogram?

Generally, women having their routine mammogram will receive a letter within one month with normal results. But if the doctor finds something suspicious, they’ll call you back, mostly within just 5 days, to take fresh pictures or other tests. Yes, that call may seem to be scary, but a suspicious finding doesn’t always mean you have cancer. It may be only a dense breast tissue, a cyst or even a tumor that isn’t necessarily cancer. Or the image from the first test just isn’t clear and needs to be retaken. You will be than getting a diagnostic mammogram (the previous mammogram was a screening mammogram). A diagnostic mammogram is again an x-ray of your breasts, but it’s carried out for a different reason. Often, more pictures are taken during a diagnostic mammogram to carefully study any areas of concern. You may also go through an ultrasound test that uses sound waves to develop a computer image of the tissues inside your breasts.