A mammogram is a specific type of x-ray used to help screen for and diagnose breast cancer. Mammograms should be used in conjunction with regular breast exams to look for breast changes. Mammograms are also used to diagnose breast cancer when you or your doctor has found a lump or other change in your breast.
Significance
Mammograms can detect breast lumps or changes much earlier than you would be able to, up to two years before a lump can be felt. Breast cancer is the sixth leading cause of death in women and will affect over 200,000 women a year. Having regular mammograms is important to catching this potentially deadly disease early, when it is most treatable.
Prevention/Solution
You should have a mammogram every year starting when you are 40 years old. If you have a strong family history of breast cancer, have tested positive for the "breast cancer gene" (a genetic mutation that indicates you may have an increased risk of breast cancer) or have had radiation treatments to the chest before the age of 30, you should talk with your doctor about having a mammogram every year beginning when you are 30. Speak with your doctor about whether you need to have additional screening tests done as well.
If you have found a lump in your breast or are concerned about other changes you have noticed, such as changes in your breasts' shape or skin texture, talk to your doctor right away about having a mammogram.
Features
During a mammogram, a technician (usually a woman) will have you place one of your breasts on an x-ray machine. A plastic plate will be lowered to compress your breast before the x-ray is taken. The compression can be uncomfortable or painful, but be sure to tell the technician if there is unbearable pain. She may be able to shift your breast to make it less painful. Compression is needed to "flatten" your breast for a clearer x-ray picture of the tissue. The process will be repeated with your other breast.
Considerations
Tell the technician performing the mammogram if you have breast implants. Make sure that your doctor also knows. Breast implants can make a mammogram more difficult to read by getting in the way of breast tissue. Younger women tend to have denser breast tissue, making mammograms more difficult to read. Women with very dense breast tissues who have an increased risk of breast cancer may need to have mammograms as well as MRI's (another type of screening test) performed annually.
Warning
Even though you may have regular mammograms, it is still important for you to continue performing self-breast exams every month. There is a small chance that a mammogram will miss something, and checking your breasts around the same time every month will help you to notice any changes in your breasts early. Look and feel for lumps, discharge from the nipples, changes in skin texture or changes in the shape of your breast.
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