Mammogram: What it Is, Procedure, and More - Healthline

A mammogram is an X-ray of the breast. It's a screening tool used to detect breast cancer. Together with regular clinical exams and monthly breast ... HealthlineHealthConditionsDiscoverPlanConnectSubscribeBreastCancerBasicsTreatmentsMBCMentalHealthPerspectivesCommunityNewsletterEverythingYouNeedtoKnowAboutMammogramsMedicallyreviewedbyTeresaHaganThomasPHD,BA,RN—WrittenbyJaimeHerndon,MS,MPH,MFA—UpdatedonNovember1,2021WhoshouldgetoneWhattoexpectTipstoprepareProcedureIsitsafe?CostandwheretogoResultsandnextstepsWhatisamammogram?AmammogramisanX-rayofthebreast.It’sascreeningtoolusedtodetectbreastcancer.Togetherwithregularclinicalexamsandmonthlybreastself-examinations,mammogramsareakeyelementintheearlydiagnosisofbreastcancer.Eventhoughthinkingaboutgettingonemightmakeyouuncomfortable,annualmammogramsareimportantafterage40.AccordingtotheNationalCancerInstitute,breastcanceristhesecondmostcommoncancerforwomenintheUnitedStates,afterskincancer.In2021,it’spredictedthattherewillbeabout281,550newcasesofbreastcancerinwomen,accordingtoBreastcancer.org.Learnabouthowmammogramswork,whoshouldgetthem,andmore.MainusesofmammogramsIfyourdoctorordersamammogramasaroutinetesttocheckforanycancerorchanges,it’sknownasascreeningmammogram.Inthistypeoftest,you’llgetseveralimagesofyourbreasttakenwiththeuseofamachine.Ifyouhavealumporanyothersymptomofbreastcancer,yourdoctorwillthenorderadiagnosticmammogram.Ifyouhavebreastimplants,you’llprobablyneedadiagnosticmammogram.Diagnosticmammogramsaremoreextensivethanscreeningmammograms.TheytypicallyrequiremoreX-raystogetviewsofthebreastfrommultiplepositions.Yourradiologistmayalsomagnifyanyareasofconcern.Whoshouldgetamammogram?Someexperts,includingtheAmericanCollegeofObstetriciansandGynecologistsandtheNationalComprehensiveCancerNetwork,recommendthatwomenwhoareage40andoldershouldhaveamammogramevery1to2years.TheAmericanCancerSocietyrecommendsregularscreeningbeginningatage45.Ifyouhaveapersonalorfamilyhistoryofbreastcancer,yourdoctormayrecommendthatyoustartscreeningsearlier,havethemmoreoften,oruseadditionaldiagnostictools.Whatdoeshavingamammogramfeellike?Mostpeoplefeelsomediscomfortduringamammogramwhentheirbreastsarecompressed.Yourexactexperiencewillvarydependingonafewuniquefactors,suchas:breastsizebreasttendernessrelatedtoanexpectedupcomingperiodthetechnician’sskillsetAnypainordiscomfortyoufeelshouldbeshort-lived.Theproceduretakesabout20minutes,butthepartsthatleadtopainordiscomfortonlylastforafewsecondsatatime.TipstoprepareforamammogramYou’llneedtofollowcertainguidelinesonthedayofyourmammographyappointment.Youshouldavoidapplyingthefollowingsubstances,whichcanshowupaswhitespotsontheimage:deodorantsbodypowdersperfumesointmentsorcreamsonyourbreastsorunderarmsBesuretotellyourradiologistbeforetheexamifyou’repregnantorbreastfeeding.Ingeneral,youwillnotbeabletoreceiveascreeningmammogramatthistime,butifnecessary,yourdoctorcanorderotherscreeningmethods,suchasanultrasound.Whathappensduringamammogram?Afterundressingfromthewaistupandtakingoffanynecklaces,atechnicianwillgiveyouasmockorgownthattiesinthefront.Dependingonthetestingfacility,youmayeitherstandorsitwhiletheimagesaretaken.EachbreastfitsontoaflatX-rayplate.Acompressorwillthenpushthebreastdowntoflattenthetissue.Thisprovidesaclearerpictureofthebreast.Youmighthavetoholdyourbreathforeachpicture.Youmayfeelasmallamountofpressureordiscomfort,butit’susuallyverybrief.Duringtheprocess,yourdoctorwillreviewtheimagesastheyaremade.Theymayorderadditionalimagesthatshowdifferentviewsifsomething’sunclearorneedsfurtherattention.Thishappensquitefrequentlyandisconsideredroutine.DigitalmammogramsDigitalmammogramsaresometimesusedifthey’reavailable.Theseareespeciallyhelpfulifyou’reyoungerthan50yearsold.Peopleinthisagegrouptypicallyhavedenserbreastscomparedwitholderadults.AdigitalmammogramtransformstheX-rayintoanelectronicpictureofthebreastthatsavesontoacomputer.Imagesareimmediatelyvisible,soyourradiologistdoesn’thavetowaitfortheimages.Thecomputercanalsohelpyourdoctorseeimagesthatmightnothavebeenveryvisibleonaregularmammogram.Aremammogramssafe?Yes,mammogramsaresafe.AswithanytypeofX-ray,you’rereceivingexposuretoaverysmallamountofradiationduringmammography.However,theriskfromthisexposureisextremelylow.Ifapersonispregnantandabsolutelyneedsamammogrambeforetheirdeliverydate,they’lltypicallywearaleadapronduringtheprocedure.HowmuchdoesamammogramcostandwheretogetoneIfyou’reoverage40,yourhealthinsurancewilllikelycoverthecostofamammogram.Contactyourinsuranceprovidertolearnwhichtypesofmammogramsarecoveredandwhetheryou’llneedtopayanyout-of-pocketcosts.Ifyoudon’thavehealthinsuranceoryourcoveragedoesnotincludemammograms,youcanaccessfreeorlow-costmammogramsthroughservicesliketheNationalBreastandCervicalCancerEarlyDetectionProgram.YoucanalsofinddiscountedmammogramseveryOctoberinhonorofBreastCancerAwarenessMonththroughtheFoodandDrugAdministration’swebsite.Ifpossible,it’sbesttogetthistypeofscreeninginafacilitythatspecializesinmammograms.ThoseaccreditedbytheAmericanCollegeofRadiologyhavetechnicianswhoarespeciallytrainedinmammography.Thesefacilitiesuseequipmentthatmeetsspecificstandardsandisinspectedregularly.Considerfindingafacilitythatalsodoesadditionaltesting,suchasMRI,ultrasound,orotherimagingproceduresincaseyouneedfurtherscreening.Intermsofannualmammograms,trytousethesamefacilityeveryyearifpossible.Thismakesiteasiertocomparetheresultsfromyeartoyear.Ifyou’revisitinganewfacilityforthefirsttimeandhavehadpriormammograms,considerbringingtheoldimageswithyou.MammogramresultsandnextstepsImagesfromamammogramcanhelpfindcalcifications,orcalciumdeposits,inyourbreasts.Thetestcanalsofindcysts—whichmaycomeandgonormallyduringsomepeople’smenstrualcycles—andanycancerousornoncancerouslumps.There’sanationaldiagnosticsystemforreadingmammogramscalledtheBreastImagingReportingandDatabaseSystem(BI-RADS).Inthissystem,therearesevencategories,rangingfromzerotosix.Eachcategorydescribeswhetheradditionalimagesarenecessaryandwhetheranareaismorelikelytohaveabenign(noncancerous)orcancerouslump.Eachcategoryhasitsownfollow-upplan.Actionsonthefollow-upplanmayinclude:gatheringadditionalimagesfindingpreviousmammogramimagesforcomparisoncontinuingregularscreeningsmakinganappointmentforfollow-upin6monthsperformingabiopsyYourdoctorwillreviewyourresultsandexplainthenextstepstoyouduringafollow-upappointment.LastmedicallyreviewedonNovember1,2021MedicallyreviewedbyTeresaHaganThomasPHD,BA,RN—WrittenbyJaimeHerndon,MS,MPH,MFA—UpdatedonNovember1,2021relatedstoriesYogaforBreastCancerBreastCancerTreatmentWhatCausesLumpsinBreastsofBreastfeedingWomen?15CelebritieswithBreastCancerTheImportanceoftheBreastCancerCommunityReadthisnextYogaforBreastCancerMedicallyreviewedbyChristinaChun,MPHIfyouhavebreastcancer,youmaybewonderingifit'ssafetopracticeyoga.IfyourdoctorgivesyoutheOK,here'sagentleroutinetotry.READMOREBreastCancerTreatmentMedicallyreviewedbyAlanaBiggers,M.D.,MPHFindoutwhatdefinesthedifferentstagesofbreastcancerandhowtheyaretreated.Learnaboutsurgery,radiation,chemotherapy,hormonetreatments,READMOREWhatCausesLumpsinBreastsofBreastfeedingWomen?MedicallyreviewedbyKarenGill,M.D.Lumpsinthebreastsofbreastfeedingwomenarecommon.Weexploresevenpossiblecausesforlumpsanddiscusshomeremediesandothertreatment…READMORE15CelebritieswithBreastCancerLearnaboutprominentwomenlikeKylieMinogueandCherylCrow,whohaveovercomebreastcancer,andareactivelypromotingcancerresearchand…READMORETheImportanceoftheBreastCancerCommunityMedicallyreviewedbyYaminiRanchod,Ph.D.,M.S.Annislivingwithmetastaticbreastcancer.Inthisarticle,shetalksabouttheimportanceoffindingsupportthroughthebreastcancercommunity.READMOREDoesTurmericHelpFightBreastCancer?Learnwhattheresearchsaysaboutthepossiblelinkbetweenturmeric—specifically,itsactivecompoundcurcumin—andbreastcancer.READMORE6TipsforAddressingSexualPainandRebuildingIntimacyAfterBreastCancerMedicallyreviewedbyJenniferLitner,PhD,LMFT,CSTAfterabreastcancerdiagnosis,thelastthingyou'relikelythinkingaboutissex.Addressingphysicalpain,communicatingwithyourpartner,and…READMOREWhatDoesItMeantoHaveHER2-NegativeBreastCancer?HER2-negativebreastcanceristhemostcommontype,withsubtypessuchashormonereceptorpositiveornegative.Theseaffecttypesoftreatments…READMORE9LessonsILearnedAboutEmotionalHealthAfterMyDCISandBreastImplantIllnessDiagnosesMedicallyreviewedbyTiffanyTaft,PsyDLettinggoofhowIthoughtrecovery“shouldlook”waskeytofindingmypathtoemotionalandphysicalrecoveryafterbreastcancer,amastectomy…READMOREWhenYouSeeUs:NavigatingtheBurdenofBeingStrongThemostimportantlessonIlearnedduringmybreastcancertreatmentisthatyoudon’thavetocarryeverythingonyourown.READMORE