Frequently asked Questions about - Mammogram

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How should I prepare for the procedure?

Before scheduling a mammogram, you should discuss any new findings or problems in your breasts with your doctor. In addition, inform your doctor of any prior surgeries, hormone use, and family or personal history of breast cancer.

Do not schedule your mammogram for the week before your period if your breasts are usually tender during this time. The best time is one week following your period. Always inform your doctor or x-ray technologist if there is any possibility that you are pregnant.

Do not wear deodorant, talcum powder, or lotion under your arms on the day of the exam. These can appear on the x-ray film as calcium spots.

Describe any breast symptoms or problems to the technologist performing the exam.

If possible, obtain prior mammograms and make them available to the radiologist at the time of the current exam.

In addition, before the examination, you will be asked to remove all jewelry and clothing above the waist and you will be given a gown or loose-fitting material that opens in the front

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What does the equipment look like?

A mammography unit looks similar to any radiographic equipment that produces x-rays to obtain an image of some part of the human body; such as chest organs or bones. The main part of a mammography unit looks like a rectangular box that houses the tube in which x-rays are produced. A mammography unit is "dedicated equipment," because it is used exclusively for x-ray exam of the breast. The unit has special accessories that allow only the breast to be exposed to the x-rays. Attached to the unit is a device that holds and compresses the breast and positions it so images can be obtained at different angles.

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What will I experience during the procedure?

Generally, this is a painless procedure. You will feel pressure on the breast as it is squeezed by the compressor. Some women with sensitive breasts may experience discomfort. If this is the case, schedule the procedure when your breasts are least tender. The technologist will apply compression in gradations. Be sure to inform the technologist if pain occurs as compression is increased. If discomfort is significant, less compression will be used.

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Why should it be done?

Mammography is performed for screening for breast cancer. Also, in patients with lumps in the breast, mammography helps in the diagnosis of the lump, i.e. whether it is benign or malignant. In simple words, it helps to know whether it is cancer or not.

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Is it painful to undergo a mammography?

No. It might just give a split-second discomfort when the breast is slightly compressed. Moreover, this machine has a special soft-touch compression which slows down as soon as the paddle reaches the breast.

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What is sonomammography?

Sonomammography is ultrasound of the breast. It is used as a complimentary test to mammography in patients with dense breasts or even in patients with breast lumps. It is done quite regularly with mammography at no extra cost.

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Why do mammography at all?

Because breast cancer is the number 1 cancer killer in the city of Ahmedabad today in women. If picked up by mammography, it is usually at a very early stage and not only has it not spread but local resection might be enough and big surgeries like removing the whole breast may not be necessary.

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Does breast cancer occur in men also?

Yes. 1% of all breast cancers do occur in males. But since the incidence is quite low, they need not do screening mammography. However, if a lump occurs in the breast region of a man, mammography can be performed.

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What are the benefits vs. risks?

Benefits

• Imaging of the breast improves a physician's ability to detect small tumors. When tumors are small, effective treatment and cure are more likely.
• The use of screening mammography increases the detection of small abnormal tissue growths confined to the milk ducts in the breast, called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). These early tumors cannot harm patients if they are removed at this stage and mammography is the only proven method to reliably detect these tumors.

Risks

• Radiation exposure. Mammography is an x-ray imaging procedure. Federal mammography guidelines limit the radiation used for each exposure of the breast to 0.3 rad. The exposure to radiation received from two mammographic views is equivalent to six months of natural background exposure. This amount of exposure is believed to be safe.
• Special care is taken during x-ray examinations to ensure maximum safety for the patient by shielding the abdomen and pelvis with a lead apron, with the exception of those examinations in which the abdomen and pelvis is being imaged. Women should always inform their doctor or x-ray technologist if there is any possibility that they are pregnant.

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Is it 100 % accurate ?

No test is 100 % accurate and this holds true even for mammography. If a doubt exists on the diagnosis, this test can be combined with sonography (sono-mammography), or may be used to localise a lesion (tumour) by a special wire technique to enable a core biopsy.

It is estimated that a woman who has yearly mammograms between ages 40 and 49 would have about a 30 percent chance of having a false-positive mammogram at some point in that decade, and about a 7 to 8 percent chance of having a breast biopsy within the 10-year period. The estimate for false-positive mammograms is about 25 percent for women ages 50 or older.

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