Mammogram

A mammogram is an X-ray of the breast used to screen for and diagnose breast cancer. A mammography unit can either produce a standard 2-D image or 3-D image.

According to John Hopkins Medicine, today’s high-quality screening mammogram is the most effective tool available to detect breast cancer before lumps can be felt or symptoms appear. Early detection of breast cancer not only helps provide a woman with more choices. It also increases her chances of having the best possible outcome.

Mammograms do have their limits. For example, they aren’t 100% accurate in showing if a woman has breast cancer.  A false-negative mammogram looks normal even though breast cancer is present.  A false-positive mammogram looks abnormal even though there’s no cancer in the breast.   About half of the women getting annual mammograms over a 10-year period will have a false-positive finding at some point.

In some infrequent cases, overdiagnosis leads to some women getting treatment that’s not really needed (overtreatment), because the cancer never would have caused any problems. Doctors can’t always tell which cancers will be life-threatening and which won’t ever cause problems. Because of this, all cases are treated. This exposes some women to the side effects of cancer treatment, even though it’s really not needed.  According to the American Cancer Society, there’s a wide range of estimates of the percentage of breast cancers that might be over diagnosed by mammography, but the most credible estimates range from 1% to 10%. 

Because mammograms are x-ray tests, they expose the breasts to radiation. The amount of radiation from each mammogram is low, but it can still add up over time.

Additional mammogram options:

  • Three-dimensional (3D) mammograms:  For this newer type of mammogram, also known as breast tomosynthesis or digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), each breast is compressed once, and a machine takes many low-dose x-rays as it moves in an arc over the breast. A computer then puts the images together into a series of thin slices. This allows doctors to see the breast tissues more clearly in three dimensions.
  • Thermography: Thermal imaging uses a camera to measure the temperature of the patient’s skin to determine if cancer cells are cells are growing or multiplying in the breast.
  • Molecular Breast Imaging: Molecular breast imaging is a test that uses a radioactive tracer and special camera to find breast cancer. Rather than simply taking a picture of a breast, molecular breast imaging is a type of functional imaging. This means that the pictures it creates show differences in the activity of the tissue.
  • Contrast enhanced digital mammography: CEDM is a mammogram that uses iodinated contrast dye. This dye makes it easier to find new blood vessels that develop when cancers grow.

I have only had 1 mammogram. It was the one right after the lump was reviewed by ultrasound. The doctor wanted to get a better look at the lump. So, I complied. I understand the radiation exposure, but I am also curious by nature and wanted to see what it would feel like and look like. The tech was very gentle and the experience wasn’t nearly as bad as I have heard it can be for small-breasted women.

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