Professional Mammography

Mammography plays a very important role in early diagnosis of breast cancer. In addition ? earlier breast cancer is diagnosed ? and treated ? better are chances for complete recovery. If the cancer is early ? there may be treatment options. (Segal ? p. 25-45) Women must play an active role in early diagnosis of breast cancer. Every woman should practice monthly breast self-examination (BSE) ? to obtain screening mammograms at regular intervals ? starting from the age of forty ? and a yearly breast examinations and medical professionals. Mammograms are X-rays of the chest ? and they can find a lot of breast cancer before they can be felt. Mammography ? along with a breast exam by a health professional may reduce the number of deaths from breast cancer. Every woman should have a mammogram every one to two years if they are between the ages of forty and fifty. (Carol ? p. 10-35) After age fifty ? every woman should have a mammogram every year.

A mammogram is an x-ray picture of the breast. It uses a dedicated x-ray machine specifically designed for that purpose ? as opposed to machines that take x-rays of the bones or other body parts. Mammograms that look for breast changes in women who have no signs of breast cancer tire called "screening" mammograms. The standard screening mammogram includes two views of each breast ? one from above and one angled from the side. A trained technologist places the breast on a plastic plate. A second piece of plastic is placed on top and for a few seconds ? some pressure is applied to flatten the breast and get a picture.

This may be temporarily uncomfortable ?but it is necessary to flatten the breast as much as possible because spreading out the tissue makes ...