What are breast biopsies for?

Diagnosis: A breast biopsy allows the pathologist to examine the tissue under the microscope to determine the exact nature of the tissue. It is most commonly used to determine whether an area of the breast is cancerous or not .

To determine: the tissue diagnosis of a palpable lump or an abnormality identified on mammo or other breast imaging. Essentially, to analyze the cells/tissue to find out if there is cancer, or if it is benign.