Research studies show that women who have breast cancer are more likely to survive if it is detected in its early stage. Cure rates of up to ninety percent have been reported in patients who have minimal tumors. Before undergoing the procedure patients should inform their physicians if they are expectant or planning to conceive. They should also avoid applying lotion, cream, body powder or deodorant on their chests on the day when the test will be performed to ensure accuracy.
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.
The American Cancer Society reports that about one or two mammograms out of every one thousand lead to a diagnosis of breast cancer. About ten percent of women need to undergo additional mammograms. You should not be alarmed if this happens to you because only eight to ten percent of these women will need a biopsy and eighty percent of these biopsies do not indicate the presence of cancer.
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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