$Unique_ID{BRK01353}
$Pretitle{Community and Social Problems, Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue,
Neoplasms}
$Title{The Right to a Breast Biopsy While in Prison}
$Subject{breast cancer detection}
$Volume{Q-19, L-19, B-19}
$Log{}

Copyright (c) 1991   Tribune Media Services, Inc.


The Right to a Breast Biopsy While in Prison


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QUESTION:  I am presently incarcerated at a prison, but please do not let that
sway you from reading this letter.  I am concerned about a friend here who has
the problem of lumps in her right breast.  They are spreading now to
underneath her arm.  Some are large, some are pea sized.  They are very tender
and warm to the touch.  In addition her mother had breast cancer.  She was
seen in a local hospital and was told she should get a biopsy for malignancy.
But the medical staff here refuses to give her a biopsy without a mammogram,
which they won't give her because she is under 35.  Can you help my friend?  I
do not understand this chain of logic.

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ANSWER:  I will do what I can.  To start with, I am a bit confused myself, by
the tale of the rapid spread of lumps that are tender and warm to the touch.
That and some of the other symptoms you included in your letter, make me think
of mastitis, or infection of the breast, more than I do of cancer.  But that
is only a hunch, not a diagnosis, for it is clear that more studies are
needed, certainly both a mammogram and biopsy.  There may be some confusion at
your institution about the indications for mammography screening, and the use
of this procedure for diagnosis.  While it is true that the recommendation for
the screening is for women over the age of 35, the presence of lumps, and the
history of breast cancer in your friend's family, throws that restriction out
of the book.  Even if there is an opinion that the condition is not malignant,
there is no prudent physician who would not immediately proceed with the two
investigations.  And since the condition seems to be progressing quite
rapidly, there certainly is need for some haste in getting these things done.
I don't know what the two of you did to get you into the situation you now
find yourself, but you are paying the price in a manner prescribed by law.
That doesn't mean that you have lost the right to proper medical care.
Somehow my concept of medicine does allow me or any of my colleagues to
restrict their care to those in need based upon social judgements or
prejudice.  In is not supposed to work that way, and I hope that this answer
and my concern may help you obtain the care I believe you need and to which
you have every right.
ÿ
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The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace 
the counsel and advice of your personal physician.  Promptly consulting your 
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical 
problem.
