Mammography

What Is It?

Mammography is a series of X-rays that shows images of the soft tissues of the breast. It is a valuable screening procedure that can detect breast cancer early, as much as two years before a lump can be felt.

A yearly mammogram is recommended for all women 50 and older, since about 80 percent of breast cancers are diagnosed in this age group. For women between ages 40 and 50, the need for a yearly mammogram has been much debated. If a woman has a mother, sister or daughter who has had breast cancer, her doctor may recommend beginning mammograms earlier.

Mammography is a quick and generally painless test that usually takes less than 30 minutes, depending on the number of individual X-ray views required. The X-rays themselves take only a few seconds, but extra time is needed to position your breast and body correctly for each separate X-ray view.

Mammography misses breast cancer about 5 percent to 10 percent of the time. But the rate can be as high as 30 percent for women with dense breast tissue (usually premenopausal women).

It is not uncommon to find an abnormality on a mammogram that requires additional testing. Most testing facilities will immediately take different, larger images of the area in question or do an ultrasound to visualize the abnormal area. Most abnormalities found during a mammography are not cancer.

Sometimes, a doctor may order a fine-needle biopsy of the suspicious spot to determine if it is malignant (cancerous). In this type of biopsy, cells from the suspicious area of the breast are sucked into the syringe and then spread on a slide. The slide is sent to the laboratory to be examined under a microscope.

The value of mammography is early detection. Early detection saves lives and, in many cases, also saves the woman's breast by identifying the cancer at a very early stage when it is most easily treated and is not life threatening.

What It's Used For

Mammography is used as a screening test for breast cancer. No screening strategy finds every breast cancer. You have a better chance of detecting breast cancer early if you also examine your own breasts every month and seeing a doctor once a year for a professional breast examination.

Mammography also is used to help clarify whether a suspicious breast lump is a cyst or a tumor and whether a tumor is more likely to be benign (not cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). However, a mammogram is not always definite. A lump that you or your doctor can feel may be cancer even if a mammogram indicates that it is not. Your doctor should check these lumps periodically or may do a biopsy, in which a small piece of tissue is removed to be examined in a laboratory.

Preparation