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What You Should Know About Mammography San Diego CA

By Jaclyn Hurley


Mammography is a technique that utilizes X rays to diagnose breast cancer. It produces a mammogram or a soft tissue X ray of the breast. This gives a physician an opportunity to see tumors that are impossible to detect when one is examined physically. This procedure also reveals any other tumor that is present in the breast and doctors can know if it is cancerous. By using the services of facilities that provide mammography San Diego CA dwellers can know if they have breast cancer early enough for successful treatment

Research shows that the chances of survival for breast cancer patients who have had a mammogram are higher. The cure rate for minimal tumors is as high as 95 percent. When preparing for a mammogram, inform your physician if you are expectant or if you are planning to get a baby. To increase the chances of getting accurate results, do not apply deodorant, body powder, lotion or cream on your breasts on the test day.

Before undergoing a mammogram, you will be asked to remove all the clothes above your waist and wear a hospital gown. It is wise to wear a two piece outfit on the day of the test. Your technician will also ask you to remove any jewelry you may be wearing. The mammography technician will ask you to stand in front of an X ray machine and place your breasts between two radiographic breast supports.

The technician will then flatten your breasts gently by pressing together the two radiographic breast supports. When the breasts are compressed, technicians are able to obtain a very clear picture with a low amount of radiation being used. You may experience some discomfort because of this pressure but it will only last for a short duration.

The breasts are imaged in several positions so that the radiologist will be able to see all breast tissue adequately. After a mammogram, the result will be provided to your physician and he or she will inform you what they mean and if further tests are required. Mammography facilities are required to send results to patients by mail within 30 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.

Most companies that offer wellness insurance spend for diagnostic mammograms every 1 or 2 years for women who have attained the age of 40. Using mammography to check for breast cancer is controversial. This is due to fearing that this procedure exposes patients to high levels of radiation that can increase the risk of getting breast cancer.

The x ray machines that were utilized in the earlier years emitted up to ten rads. This dose of radiation poses a health hazard if a patient gets a mammogram many times over a period of 10 to 20 years. Newer machines emit lower than one rad of radiation per breast.




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