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Mammography General Information
Mammography is a special type of x-ray imaging used to create detailed images of the breast. Mammography uses low dose x-ray; high contrast, high-resolution film; and an x-ray system designed specifically for imaging the breasts. Successful treatment of breast cancer depends on early diagnosis. Mammography plays a major role in early detection of breast cancers. The US Food and Drug Administration reports that mammography can find 85 to 90 percent of breast cancers in women over 50 and can discover a lump up to two years before it can be felt. The benefits of mammography far outweigh the risks and inconvenience.
Mammography can show changes in the breast well before a woman or her physician can feel them. Once a lump is discovered, mammography can be key in evaluating the lump to determine if it is cancerous. If a breast abnormality is found or confirmed with mammography, additional breast imaging tests such as ultrasound (sonography) or a breast biopsy may be performed. A biopsy involves taking a sample(s) of breast tissue and examining it under a microscope to determine whether it contains cancer cells. Many times, mammography or ultrasound is used to help the radiologist or surgeon guide the needle to the correct area in the breast during biopsy.
There are two types of mammography exams, screening and diagnostic:
Screening mammography is an x-ray examination of the breasts in a woman who is asymptomatic (has no complaints or symptoms of breast cancer). The goal of screening mammography is to detect cancer when it is still too small to be felt by a woman or her physician. Early detection of small breast cancers by screening mammography greatly improves a woman's chances for successful treatment. Screening mammography is recommended every one to two years for women once they reach 40 years of age and every year once they reach 50 years of age. In some instances, physicians may recommend beginning screening mammography before age 40 (i.e. if the woman has a strong family history of breast cancer). Screening mammography is available at our 5752 Victoria Drive location.
Diagnostic mammography is an x-ray examination of the breast in a woman who either has a breast complaint (for example, a breast lump or nipple discharge is found during self-exam) or has had an abnormality found during screening mammography. Diagnostic mammography is more involved and time-consuming than screening mammography and is used to determine exact size and location of breast abnormalities and to image the surrounding tissue and lymph nodes. Typically, several additional views of the breast are imaged and interpreted during diagnostic mammography. . Women with breast implants or a personal history of breast cancer will usually require the additional views used in diagnostic mammography. Diagnostic mammography is available at our 5732 Victoria Drive location.
• General Information - A brief background description of how screening and diagnostic
mammography works
• Preparation - Everything you need to know about the examination and how it should
be prepared for
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