6 mammogram myths debunked
Many of us know the importance of mammograms and their role in reducing the risk of breast cancer, but changing screening recommendations can be confusing. Combined with the straight up myths you might be hearing or reading, you might be basing an important decision on wrong information. To help, breast imaging specialist Jeanette Fulton, MD, debunked some common mammogram myths.
Myth #1: Mammograms are dangerous.
“In medicine, there’s always a risk to benefit ratio,” Dr. Fulton said. “You have to weigh the balance of the dangers from screening mammography, which is a slight radiation risk, versus the other danger, which is dying of breast cancer.”
It has been determined by multiple randomized control studies that annual screening mammography decreases mortality from breast cancer. The technology behind screening mammography continues to improve, using less radiation while at the same time obtaining high-quality images.
Myth #2: Mammograms are painful.
“Very few women complain of pain while they’re having a mammogram,” Dr. Fulton said. “It’s not comfortable because it involves compression, but I would not say that it’s painful at all to most women. Many women having a mammogram screening for the first time say it’s much better than they thought.”
Myth #3: I don’t need a mammogram because I don’t have a family history of breast cancer.
Most women who get diagnosed with breast cancer do not have a family history of the disease, so it is important that all women get screened regardless of family history.
Myth #4: Mammograms can prevent breast cancer.
Screening mammography does not prevent breast cancer. The purpose of screening mammography is to find a cancer at its smallest possible stage so women can have the best chance of survival and the least invasive treatment that will cure their cancer.
Myth #5: I don’t need a mammogram unless I feel a lump.
“This is absolutely untrue,” Dr. Fulton said. “The data shows that women who present with a lump that is ultimately diagnosed as a cancer, have a lower survival rate than women who have breast cancers detected during a screening mammogram. Cancers that are felt on exam are usually more advanced than clinically occult cancers found on screening mammograms.”
The goal of screening mammography is to find a cancer at its earliest possible stage when it’s small and not able to be felt. When the cancer is detected early, patients require less treatment and gain more treatment options. The majority of breast cancers detected by a mammogram screening cannot be felt.
Myth #6: I just has a mammogram a year ago, so I don’t need one.
“The guidelines seem to be ever changing, but the American College of Radiology and the Society of Breast Imaging recommend yearly mammograms beginning at age 40 for your best chances of survival,” Dr. Fulton said.
The bottom line about screening mammography.
Multiple randomized control studies have shown that screening mammogram reduces mortality.
“Data concerning mortality reduction from screening mammography has been scrutinized for years,” Dr. Fulton said. “It is one of the most highly tested screening exams with data from multiple well designed and executed randomized control studies that routinely demonstrate a mortality reduction approaching 50% for those attending regular screening. We know that if you can detect a breast malignancy on a screening examination rather than catch it when it is clinically present (and you can feel it), you will decrease mortality, decrease the extent of treatment, provide more treatment options and give the patient a better quality and length of life.”
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