Any terms that somehow appear next to the diagnosis of cancer can scare even a completely persistent person. That is why the question of what a biopsy is involuntarily pops up among those who are prescribed this procedure during the examination. To remove fear and fears, it is better to understand what this procedure is.
Imagine a situation in which you need to take blood for analysis. You must admit that nothing terrible or unusual happens in this situation; from very early childhood we donate blood from either the finger or the vein. A biopsy is also a procedure for taking a tiny part of your body to perform appropriate tests, and there is nothing tragic about it. In most cases, the procedure is performed with the help of a so-called puncture - this is an ordinary injection, a small piece of tissue that is contained inside a medical needle is taken for analysis. Sometimes fears are based on a misunderstanding: a biopsy - what is it, such an operation? Is it possible to cut off a piece, then to examine it under a microscope?
Be sure to understand the goals and characteristics of a biopsy. A histological or cytological examination, which is carried out with material taken on a biopsy, is carried out in order to diagnose diseases that require serious surgical intervention. There is simply no other way to determine the malignancy or benignity of many oncological diseases. To determine what a biopsy is, you just need to remember that without this procedure, doctors would have been forced to perform many operations only on the basis of indirect symptoms. Some very traumatic and costly surgeries with a long rehabilitation period are not needed if, according to the results of histological analysis, it is possible to do with drug therapy, or it is more expedient to treat the symptoms, leaving the cause unattended, since it is not critical. It remains only from time to time to observe the picture in order to react in time if malignant changes begin.
They know perfectly well what a biopsy is, numerous women with a diagnosis of breast fibroadenoma. If there are multiple adenomas, then there is no point in completely removing the mammary gland - it is traumatic both physically and mentally, and breast reconstruction is worth a lot of money. If at the same time histology shows that the formations are benign, then a restraining treatment with a possible partial removal of the largest and most painful nodes is sufficient. But this is not cancer, and in this case, what is a biopsy - this is a way to confirm the safety of the disease!
The procedure for sampling a tiny tissue sample for histological or cytological analysis is carried out, if possible, either by puncture, or with the help of endoscopy or laparoscopy. Not every internal organ can be reached without surgical intervention, and in this case methods that are least traumatic for the patient are used. A biopsy is completely safe, as a process, it is always performed by a physician with a high level of qualification and rich experience in such manipulations. Ultimately, when you are clearly aware of what is happening and what the goals of the procedure are, then the fear goes away, and along with the fear, tightness and most of the pain go away. If the doctor offers you a biopsy, this does not mean that the diagnosis is made - the procedure is just prescribed in order to confirm or exclude the diagnosis after which the radical treatment is prescribed. It is imperative to agree to a biopsy; this is the most gentle procedure that can only be performed to provide the necessary material for histological or cytological examination.