DEAR DR. DONOHUE: The receptionist at my doctor’s office called to give me the report on a mammogram I had taken. She said that it showed calcifications and that the doctor wanted it repeated in six months. Why? Are calcifications indications of cancer? If they are, I’d like to get this taken care of immediately. I am becoming a nervous wreck thinking about this. — H.M.

ANSWER: When tests don’t provide a definite answer, everyone suffers — the patient, the doctor of the patient and the doctor who interpreted the test.

Calcifications are the perfect example. They’re calcium specks. When the doctor interpreting the mammogram sees them, he or she bases their importance on their number, their shape, their size and the pattern they make. With those criteria, the doctor usually can say whether they indicate cancer.

Noncancerous calcifications might result from a bump to the breast to which you paid little attention. Or a minor breast infection could have caused them.

If the doctor feels that evidence points more in the direction of cancer, then he or she will ask for an immediate biopsy. If the doctor feels more certain that they are not cancer signs but is not completely certain about that call, a repeat examination at a later date is a reasonable position to take. Neither the interpreting doctor nor your personal doctor would ask for a delay if there was any chance that the inaction would harm your health.

The pamphlet on breast cancer gives the approach to diagnosing and treating it. Readers can obtain a copy by writing: Dr. Donohue — No. 1101, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6 Can. with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: This morning while brushing my teeth, I looked in the mirror and couldn’t believe what I saw. My right eye was bright red. It looked like someone had punched me. When my husband saw it, he asked if he had hit me while he was asleep. He didn’t.

It doesn’t hurt. My vision is perfect. My eye looks frightful. Do I need to see a doctor? — Y.T.

ANSWER: Your question is asked repeatedly.

My long-distance guess is a subconjunctival hemorrhage. The conjunctiva is a cellophanelike covering of the eye. Beneath it is a network of invisible blood vessels. When one of those delicate vessels breaks, blood covers that part of the eye.

Coughing, sneezing or straining causes the breakage. Sometimes it happens for no apparent reason. The eye looks awful, but no real harm is done. The blood is absorbed in about a week. You can hurry it up by putting warm compresses over the closed eye.

You need to see a doctor if the eye begins to pain you, if the blood stays for longer than a week or if it happens time and again.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My mother has lived in an assisted-living facility for two years. She’s mentally clear, but physically unable to take care of herself. The last time I visited her, a nurse was taking her blood pressure. She told me that my mother’s pressure in her right arm was normal, but the pressure in her left arm was 165 over 95. Which is her true blood pressure? — E.L.

ANSWER: A 10-point discrepancy in blood pressure between the two arms is considered acceptable. With a larger difference, the actual blood pressure is the higher one.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com.

Copy the Story Link