You know the guidelines: The American Cancer Society recommends women 40 and older should have a screening mammogram every year.
And you know the stakes: “Breast cancer mortality has decreased 30 to 40 percent over the last 25 years,” said Dr. Jackie Sweeney, medical director of the St. Elizabeth Breast Cancer. “Early detection by state-of-the-art mammography is crucial to finding early-stage, curable breast cancer.”
But what else do you need to know about mammograms? Here are some helpful facts:
What is a mammogram?
A mammogram is simply a low-dose X-ray of the breast.
Why do mammograms hurt?
Think about a bag of marbles. If you lay a bag of marbles down and take a picture of it, you can only see the outermost lines of the marbles. But, if you compress the marbles and take a picture, you can see every marble in the bag.
This is the same way mammograms work. X-ray technicians have to compress the breast in order to view the entire tissue. Compression should be firm but not painful; the better the compression, the clearer the picture and the less radiation required.
What’s the difference between a screening mammogram and a diagnostic mammogram?
A screening mammogram is for someone with no symptoms or problems related to the breast. The goal of a screening mammogram is to detect cancers before they start to cause symptoms, while they’re still in the earliest, most treatable stage.
These are the mammograms women 40 and over should have every year. You don’t need a doctor’s order for them. You do need a doctor’s order, however, for a diagnostic mammogram.
A diagnostic mammogram is ordered by your doctor if you’re having certain breast symptoms, is you’ve previously had an abnormal screening mammogram or if your doctor has a specific concern.
Many women feel uneasy about scheduling their first mammogram. Rather than feel worried or concerned, talk to your female friends or family members and go together. You’ll have motivation to keep the appointment, and it could offer time to catch up with a loved one!
