Facts About Mammography San Diego CA

By Jaclyn Hurley


Mammography is a procedure performed by a radiological technologist to detect breast cancer. It produces a soft tissue X ray or mammogram of the breast, which allows a physician to see tumors that cannot be detected though physical examination. A mammogram also reveals the presence of any other tumor in the breast and helps healthcare providers determine if it is cancerous or not. By taking advantage of mammography San Diego CA residents can defend themselves against breast cancer because this procedure detects it in its early stages.

According to research, mammography increases the survival chances of people who have breast cancer. For minimal tumors, cure rates of up to ninety five percent have been reported. To prepare for a mammogram, you should inform your doctor if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant. You should not apply body powder, deodorant, cream or lotion on your chest on the day of the test because they may interfere with the X rays.

Before you undergo the procedure, the radiographical technologist will ask you to remove everything you are wearing above your waist and put on a hospital gown. You can go for the test wearing a two piece garment. You will also be asked to remove any jewelry before undergoing the procedure and stand in front of an X ray machine with your breasts held on a breast support table.

The radiographic breast supports are pressed together in order to gently flatten the breasts. This helps ensure that a clear picture of breast tissue is obtained with minimal radiation being emitted. Compressing the breasts in this manner can make a patient feel uncomfortable but this discomfort lasts only a few seconds.

Your breasts will be imaged in various positions so that a radiologist can clearly observe all the tissues. After the procedure is over, your physician will be provided with the results and he or she will let you know what they mean and whether you need to be tested further. Patients who undergo this procedure are normally sent their results by mail within thirty days.

According to research completed by the American Cancer Society, about one or two patients out the one thousand patients who get mammograms are found to have breast cancer. On average, ten percent of these patients are asked to get further tests. Only eight to ten percent of women who have gotten a mammogram are asked to get a biopsy and only twenty percent of biopsies show the presence of cancerous cells in breasts.

Insurance firms that offer wellness programs usually spend money for yearly mammogram screenings for women who are 40 years or older. Using mammograms to test for breast cancer is a controversial subject. This is due to fearing that the X ray machines used to perform a mammogram unnecessarily exposes patients to high doses of radiation, which can cause cancer.

Women should not be afraid of getting a mammogram because new X ray machines do not expose patients to high radiation levels. Older machines exposed patients to as much as 10 rads of radiation. This is hazardous particularly if a patient undergoes the procedure regularly over ten or more years. Modern X ray machines expose patients to lower than 1 rad of radiation.




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