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Dear Members,

Thank you to this wonderful community of very caring people who provide
support, and the wisdom gained from their own personal experiences.

I have had the marker and so has my sister, The steel is so very very small.
I eventually had surgery and the steel was removed when they also removed
the tumor. My sister has several markers in her and is doing well. We of
course are also celiacs.

I had the same procedure and due to my nickel allergy did not allow
them to leave the marker- in Nancy's famous words, just say no.  They will
have the films of previous mammo's to refer to.

I had a sterotactic breast biopsy almost three years ago and have the
marker in place.  I have had no effects whatsoever from the marker.
I am an extremely sensitive celiac and also have other allergies.

Could you go to an allergy doctor or dermatologist and be tested for
allergies against the materials in the steel marker?  I'm allergic to
nickel.  I only get a mild rash that itches but don't know what would happen
if it was something implanted in me.


People w/ nickel allergies usually react to jewelry...break out under rings,
earrings,
etc.
The studs used for piercing ears are often surgical stainless steel...If you
have pierced ears w/ good results, a reaction probably won't be a problem.
I did a quick search and there is some interesting comments at this site....
http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showthread.php?t=940
Reactions to the latex probably affects more people than a rx to the
stainless.


The nickel is what I would be concerned about.  When I had pierced
ears, I could never wear the cheap jewelry and was told it was because
of nickel.  I always had to wear gold posts.  Being a family of 3
celiacs, we have plenty of allergies to deal with too.

I have had them several times. I had microcalcifications and it showed up on
a mammo indicating something was "there." No one could feel it but they knew
that was an indication of cancer of some kind. I had several lumps removed
over the years and always had to use the markers with guided mammo to find
the lump.
It never bothered me at all and I had no trouble. I had another rare sarcoma
and it metastasized. I have lots of wires in my lungs, pelvic area and a bar
inbedded in my sternum. I don't know what the wires are made from but the
bar is titanium. I never set off alarms at the airport from any of this and
I don't know they are there.
You can ask them to test you for allergies but I think you are ok with it. I
am a very highly allergic person and intolerant to so many things since I
was not diagnosed with celiac until I was 38. I am 71 now.


 I've had a this kind of biopsy and had no problems (and I am allergic to
nickel).  I wasn't aware that the marker is left in, but I guess it's
possible.  I thought it was taken out during the actual biopsy.  I'm having
a mammogram next week, I'll have to ask that question.  I also have a hip
replacement, made up of several different materials, and I've been told
there is no way to tell if the body is affected internally in a similar
manner to the way the skin reacts to the metal.   My orthopaedic surgeons
say there are no real studies that have been conducted on this - only
presumptions with nothing to back them up.


The marker is safe; sensitivity to the material is very rare.  In general
women cannot feel the clip.  They do not set off airport detectors and do
not cause interference problems in MRI.


 Two years ago I had a titanium dental implant inserted.  I am not sure what
the true cause of the problem was, but I had continual infections and pain
at the site and after it abscessed 3 times the oral surgeon agreed it had to
be removed.  I am celiac and none of the dental people I saw felt that had
any bearing on the problem.  However, the man who finally operated to remove
it told me never to have another one inserted--in that location or any
other.  Perhaps it was just my reaction to it.  I don't know any other
celiacs with an implant personally, but so many people have them
successfully that I feel there must be many.
I guess many of these reactions are multi-faceted and individual.


I have an auto-immune disease in that I
have Celiac's, arthritis, diabetes and fibromyalgia with a chronic fatigue
disorder.  I have two stainless steel replacement knees and have never had a
problem.  They have not made me ill in any way.  I would not worry over
this.  I had a breast biopsy and I was far more concerned about having
breast cancer than any stainless steel reactions.

I am not celiac.  I am on the list because my 11 year old daughter has
celiac.  I had the biopsy and the marker about 4 years ago.  I have had no
adverse problems.  In fact when I had a second cyst it was clear that it was
in a new spot.

Relax it is not a problem, in my opinion.  Your body will skin over this
marker and you'll never have to worry about it.
However,  you do have to worry about infection afterwards.  Be very careful
after the operation and keep the incision clean.  You'll get instructions
for this. I have had a lot of problems in infections and sensitivies to the
drugs you'll be getting.  I have an implanted defibrillator and have had
over a dozen implants and extractions.

My own research follows in second summary.

Annie

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