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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.

Patients are asked to remove the clothes they are wearing above their waist and they are provided with a hospital gown before undergoing a mammogram. They are also asked to remove any jewelry. Wearing two piece garments on the day of the test is wise. When performing the procedure, radiologic technologists ask patients to maintain an upright position in front of an X ray machine and then place the breasts 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.

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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