What is mammography?
Mammography (mammogram) is an X-ray exam of the breast. Most mammography is done as a baseline or screening exam. This exam is useful in diagnosis of breast disease and in detection of cancer. Most breast disease is not malignant or cancerous. If cancer is present, finding it early improves your chances of being treated successfully. If you or your doctor has felt a breast lump, mammography may aid in detecting other lumps or a lump in the other breast which cannot be felt yet. Mammography is the most accurate method currently available to detect breast disease when no symptoms exist.
Mammography (mammogram) is an x-ray exam of the breast. Most mammography is done as a baseline or screening exam. This exam is useful in diagnosis of breast disease and in detection of cancer. Most breast disease is not malignant or cancerous. If cancer is present, finding it early improves your chances of being treated successfully. If you or your doctor have detected the presence of a lump in your breast, mammography may aid in detecting other lumps or a lump in the other breast which cannot be felt yet. Mammography is the most accurate method currently available to detect breast disease when no symptoms exist.
Mammography is a specific type of imaging that uses a low-dose x-ray system and high-contrast, high-resolution film for examination of the breasts. Successful treatment of breast cancer depends on early diagnosis. Mammography can show changes in the breast up to two years before a patient or physician can feel them. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that mammography can detect 85 to 90 percent of breast cancers in women over 50. Current guidelines from the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American College of Radiology (ACR) recommend that beginning at age 40, women get annual mammograms.
