Mammograms are not the most comfortable thing in the world.  I’ve never had one, but I will be scheduling my first appointment for one in about seven years, when I am forty, since my female side of the family does have a history of breast cancer, and agressive, fatal breast cancer at that.  This dramatically increases my odds, my sister’s odds, and my mom’s odds of getting breast cancer, so I’m hoping we will all be dilligent in detection when the time is right.

As I said, mammograms can be a very uncomfortable procedure that’s awkward and something that is definitely not to be looked forward to, but there are things you can do to help ensure you get the best results and have the best experience during your mammogram as possible. 

And the accuracy of a breast cancer screening test definitely partly depends on the person being screened so that the best results may be yielded and conclusive, so the patient doesn’t have to come back for a second round, the last thing most women want.  Mammograms squish the tissue as flat as possible so they can get the best reading of the tissue to look for any warning signs, so the more a woman can cooperate and position herself correctly without wriggling around is a help to technicians performing the test.

Recommendations for the best results and best scenario for catching things early is to make sure you find a quality place to go get them done at, and preferably stay with that place as long as possible so they have your older xrays to compare the new ones too.  This heightens the likelihood that they will spot any potential issues that have come up, because they know your breasts.

Also, try to schedule your appointments for mammograms during the earlier part of your menstrual cycle, because supposedly this helps reduce those fibrous cyst like masses that tend to show up when women are ovulating or are close to having their period, and these can throw test results off.  And last but not least, don’t let fear keep you from getting mammograms regulargly.  Once you do them a couple times, you’re a pro, and you should be able to whip right through them after a while. 

This entry was posted on January 22, 2008 at 11:19 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in Breast Health by Breast News Girl No Comments Yet