Is mammography safe and effective?
Although decidedly not ideal, mammography is safe and is currently the best tool widely available to detect breast cancer in its earliest stages. Rethink recommends regular mammograms as a prudent course of action for any woman aged 50 and above. Women with a family history, other risk factors or reasons for concern should consult a trained medical professional about when to have a mammogram. As a funder of breast cancer research, Rethink’s hopes to help develop more effective techniques for earlier detection of breast cancer. While x-ray mammography reveals structural abnormalities, it cannot tell a doctor whether that abnormality is cancerous. Recent advancements such as digital mammography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computer-aided detection (or CAD) and ultrasound provide options to examine breast structural abnormalities in new ways and bring doctors a step closer to detecting cancer without biopsy. These advances are exciting but much work needs to be done before they can
