Mammography
It is recommended that all women over the age of 40 take a mammography, or breast screening, at least once every 1 or 2 years in order to look for symptoms that might indicate the presence of cancer.
The chances of recovering from breast cancer depend highly on how early it is detected. The earlier, the better. A mammography test is a special x-ray picture of the breast.
What is the purpose of a mammography?
A mammography, or breast screening, is intended to detect breast cancer at the earliest stage possible, even before noticeable symptoms are developed.
All women over the age of 40 should be routinely screened for breast cancer at least once every couple of years. It is even more important to have regular checkups if there are first degree relatives, like mother or sisters, who’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer.
How is a mammography performed?
The patient is placed in front of the machine, and the breasts are positioned, one at a time, on the mammography equipment, in the appropriate location in order to obtain the best image of the breast. A paddle is then used to gently compress the breast.
Breast compression is necessary so the best image possible can be obtained. What the compression does is that it thins and evens the breast tissue, which provides a better quality image with a lower dose of x-ray. The compression also prevents the breast from moving during the procedure, reducing the possibility of blurred and inaccurate images. Breast compression lasts only a few seconds. It may be uncomfortable, but it should not be painful.
The x-ray equipment will transfer the image of the breast onto the x-ray film or the digital detector. The process of positioning and radiating is repeated for additional views of the same breast and for the other breast.
The entire procedure should take 15 to 20 minutes, although it may take longer if additional views are needed.
