What Happens During A Mammogram?

If you or someone you know is suspected of having breast cancer, they will have to undergo a mammogram. To learn more about mammograms, continue reading this article. Throughout the article we will discuss what a mammogram is, as well as the purpose of a mammogram. We will also discuss what to expect during a mammogram examination, what to expect once the examination is completed, and what doctors will look for in your results.

Let us begin our discussion by defining what a mammogram is and discovering the purpose of a mammogram. A mammogram is a type of x-ray that is conducted on the breast. This x-ray is used to diagnose breast cancer in women who have shown signs or symptoms of the disease. For those who have fear of radiation, mammograms are completely safe and use extremely low doses of radiation that cannot lead to any harm.

What should you expect if you are having a mammogram conducted?

Upon entering the room, you will be asked to undress above the waist and you will be given a hospital top to wear. Once you are dressed and ready to begin, your technologist will position your breasts. During the mammogram, your breasts will be placed between 2 plates. These plates are designed to help spread the tissue of your breasts so that they can be more easily examined. Once your breasts are placed between the plates, they will be gently flattened. While this can be slightly uncomfortable, the compression only lasts for a few seconds.

The entire procedure is very quick, and should take no more than 20 minutes. Once the procedure is completed, a black and white x-ray will be produced for your health care professional to examine in further detail.

What will your health care professional look for in your mammogram results?

When examining your results, doctors will look for two types of changes, calcifications and masses. A calcification is a tiny mineral deposit that will appear as small white spots on your x-ray film.

If these are present, they may or may not be cancerous. A mass can be a variety of different things including a cyst, a non-cancerous tumor, or cancer. If a mass is found within your results, further tests will be conducted to determine whether or not it is cancerous.

If you have been instructed by your doctor to have a mammogram completed, do not panic - very few mammogram results lead to a diagnosis of breast cancer.

Regardless of age, every woman should be engaging in yearly breast examinations (conducted by a health care professional). Engaging in regular breast check ups will ensure that, if you ever were to develop breast cancer, it would be caught during its earliest stages. If you have not done it already, book an appointment with your doctor now.

When it comes to breast cancer, it is better to be safe than sorry!

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Original article

Riding the Mammogram Guidelines Roller Coaster

Have you made your personal peace with the 2009 U.S. Preventative Services Task Force recommendations that annual breast screening should begin at age 50, rather than the previously recommended age of 40? Well, not so fast. Here comes another set of recommendations, this time brought to you by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). The ACOG is recommending that doctors should offer all women in their 40s the chance to get annual mammograms.

The crux of the difference between the two groups recommendations is the age at which annual mammograms should begin - age 40 or age 50? Unlike the ACOG, the USPSTF's recommendations are based upon a broad comprehensive look at the numbers, numbers which clearly fire up emotions when we inevitably associate them with our loved one's. Dr. Michael LeFevre, from the USPSTF, breaks it down like this:

It's about balancing the benefits and the harms of a test. LeFevre explains that of every 1,000 40-year-old women, 30 would be expected to ultimately die of breast cancer if they never had a mammogram. If those 1,000 women are screened every other year between age 50 and 75, (as recommended by USPSTF), that number drops to 23 deaths. Starting screening in the same group at 40 instead would save one additional life, meaning 22 would die of breast cancer, on average.

What if that one additional life is our's!?

Part of the numbers analysis is all those women getting annual mammograms from age 40-50 who are not saved from breast cancer in the process but who potentially suffer through numerous false-positives and painful biopsies, and who potentially increase their risk of developing breast cancer due to the cumulative radiation exposure that comes with an additional 10 years of annual mammograms. Dr. Nancy Snyderman, NBC's chief medical editor, further point outs that because most women's estrogen levels are still fairly high at age 40, their breast tissue is still generally quite dense, making it hard to distinguish irregularities on a mammogram. So are mammograms the best method of monitoring women's breast health before age 5o?

One woman writes into the Today Show's mammogram Q&A section with the following:

"Does anyone else ever look down at their breasts like they are ticking time-bombs?"

That was definitely me prior to my prophylactic double mastectomy. Now I wasn't your "average" woman with an average risk of developing breast cancer, not as a BRCA2 carrier whose grandmother, mother, aunt and sisters had all battled breast cancer. It was upon learning that I was BRCA positive that I finally felt like I had the specifics I needed to make the decision that was best for me. For most women, those at "average" risk of developing breast cancer, there are little or no specifics, just fear. Disagreements between those we look to for guidance just adds to our anxiety.

What do you think about the lack of unity in voice regarding mammogram guidelines? Does it discourage you? Confuse you? Impact your decisions regarding your own breast screening?

Susan Beausang, President, 4Women.com

Susan Beausang is President of 4Women.com, Inc. and designer of the patented BeauBeauR head scarf, a fashionable scarf specifically designed for women and girls. The Beaubeau unites the worlds of fashion and medical hair loss. 4Women.com's mission is to help women and girls cope with the emotional upheaval of medical hair loss with dignity and confidence and to advocate for greater understanding of the emotional impacts of hair loss. An Alopecian and a Previvor, Susan is bald but cancer-free. She strives to be a source of strength and hope for women and girls with medical hair loss. Learn more at http://www.4women.com/.

Original article

The Controversy Over Screening Mammogram

The mortality rate from breast malignancy in the United States has decreased by 31% between 1990 and 2007. Most of this success is attributed to screening mammogram. Improved medical treatments have helped to a lesser degree. As expected, the key to long survival after cancer diagnosis is to discover it early and then to eradicate it with surgical excision. Once the cancer has spread, no amount of drugs can cure it. In the case of breast cancer, the key to early detection is screening mammogram (and physical exam).

The evidence for screening mammogram comes from several large studies from many European countries as well as the United States. The largest randomized controlled trial was conducted in Sweden. This result was recently published by author László Tabár and colleagues (Swedish Two-County Trial: Impact of Mammographic Screening on Breast Cancer Mortality during 3 Decades, in the journal Radiology, volume 260, pages 658-663, September 2011). A total of 133,065 women aged 40-74 years were randomly assigned into a group invited to mammographic screening and a control group receiving the usual care. After 29 years of follow-up, the study shows a 31% reduction in breast cancer mortality in women invited to screening. The authors calculate that screening 300 women for 10 years prevents one death from breast tumor. Many experts think that the benefit of screening mammography is even greater in women who actually undergo testing compared to those women who do not. This is because in the large population studies like the Swedish report above, some women invited to screen did not have mammogram. On the other hand, women not invited also had mammogram, but to a lesser degree.

Yes, it is true that sometimes screening mammogram can pick up some findings, which lead to biopsies, that turn out to be benign or just pre-cancer. Yes, this would cause anxiety, discomfort, and would cost some healthcare money. Critics call this "over-diagnosis". This is because we have no perfect test that can tell will absolute 100% accuracy in each person which mammogram finding is bad invasive cancer and which is not. Screening mammogram can also find tiny cancers, that then get treated with surgery, maybe even radiation and anti-estrogen pills or chemotherapy. Critics call this "over-treatment". This is because we have no perfect test that can tell will absolute 100% accuracy in each person which tiny cancer will kill without treatment, and which would be fine left alone. But the bottom line is that despite these imperfections, screening mammogram still significantly saves lives. The current recommendation still stands, and it is annual screening mammogram starting at age 40. Each woman needs to decide for herself whether she wants to have a test proven to reduce breast cancer mortality by 31%, over the inconvenience of "over-diagnosis" and the possible side effects of "over-treatment".

Dr. Mai Brooks is a surgical oncologist/general surgeon, with expertise in early detection and prevention of cancer. More at http://www.drbrooksmd.com/, http://thecancerexperience.wordpress.com/.

Original article