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Breast cancer prevention and detection
Prevention and detectionBreast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, except for skin cancer.
- Limiting the use of alcohol, exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy body weight can help prevent breast cancer.
- Mammograms, clinical breast exams (done during your annual physical) and periodic breast self-exams can help detect breast cancer early, when it is most curable.
Facing a breast cancer diagnosis is difficult. That is why we encourage women to ask many questions—and even get second opinions—about their breast care.
Source: Allina Patient Education, Mammograms, Clinical Breast Exams and Self-exams, rad-ahc-14066 (3/08); American Cancer Society; "Types of Breast Biopsies" by Tammy Fox, MD, and Diane Stoller, MD, Piper Breast Center Communiqué, winter 2003; National Cancer Institute Reviewed by: Timothy Sielaff, MD, PhD, FACS, president, Virginia Piper Cancer Institute; Carol Bergen, RN, manager, Piper Breast Center; Deborah Day, MD, medical director, Piper Breast Center First Published: 08/25/2009 Last Reviewed: 08/25/2009 |
Worried about inheriting breast cancer or passing it on? Ask your doctor if genetic counseling is appropriate for you.
Breast cancer patient information
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Mammograms: Important breast cancer checksStarting at age 40, most women should have a mammogram every year. This will help catch breast cancer early on, when it's most curable.
A mammogram is a low-dose X-ray picture of your breast. The exam involves compressing your breasts between two panels for a few seconds so the X-ray can get a clear image of your breast tissue. You will feel pressure.
Your mammogram images will be taken in one of two ways:
- analog (on film): Images are created on film. The film is eveloped and the radiologist (doctor of X-ray) studies the film on a special light box.
- digital: Images are captured and sent to a computer. The radiologist studies the images on a high-resolution computer screen.
Both ways are safe, accurate and provide reliable results
Although mammograms are proven to find breast cancer in early stages, about 10% of cancers do not show up on mammograms.
Digital mammography: Is it better than regular mammograms?
A woman getting a mammogram probably will not notice a difference between digital mammography and analog (on film) breast cancer screening.
The main difference between a digital and film mammogram is in how images are taken and displayed. Digital pictures do not go to film that must be developed before they can be seen. Instead, they're taken by a computer and electronically sent to a screen, where a radiologist can interpret (read) them.
Digital mammograms offer radiologists the option to magnify, brighten or darken images so that they can better see possible tumors and verify whether they could be breast cancer. However, if you have a film mammogram, you can feel confident that the radiologist will have clear, complete images to read.
Digital mammography has been available since 1996. Early studies suggest that digital mammograms may be more effective in detecting breast cancer in women younger than age 50, women who have not gone through menopause, and women who have dense (thick) breast tissue.
Digital mammography locations
Although the number of digital mammography units at clinics and hospitals is growing throughout the United States, film mammograms are more widely available.
 These Allina locations offer digital mammography.
Source: Allina Patient Education, Mammograms, Clinical Breast Exams and Self-exams, rad-ahc-14066 (3/08); American Cancer Society; "Digital Mammography – Is it better?" by Deborah L. Day, MD, Piper Breast Center Communiqué, winter/spring 2006; American College of Radiology Reviewed by: Timothy Sielaff, MD, PhD, FACS, president, Virginia Piper Cancer Institute; Carol Bergen, RN, manager, Piper Breast Center; Deborah Day, MD, medical director, Piper Breast Center First Published: 08/25/2009 Last Reviewed: 08/25/2009 | Need a mammogram?
Check with your insurance provider to see if the mammogram will be covered. Your health care provider's recommendation for services does not guarantee coverage by your insurance provider.
Find the mammogram location that works best for you.
Low-cost or free mammograms
Our clinics and hospitals participate in the Minnesota Department of Health's Sage Screening Program. The effort offers free mammograms to uninsured and underinsured women.
Visit www.mnsage.com or call 1-800-643-2584. |
Does it hurt? Leann explains mammograms
They might enter the clinic in fear. But after a mammogram by Leann McMullen, women often say, "Oh, that wasn't so bad."
"Many patients come in fearful because they've heard horror stories about mammograms," says McMullen. "But it shouldn't be a horrible experience. It is very important to listen to patients and help them feel at ease."
That's what the radiology coordinator and her colleagues try to do as they perform an average of 380 mammograms a month at Allina Medical Clinic-Coon Rapids.
Catching breast cancer early
A mammogram is an x-ray examination of the breast in a woman with no breast complaints. It's meant to find cancer when it is too small to be felt by the woman or her doctor.
Early detection improves one's ability to overcome breast cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death in women (after lung cancer).
A screening mammogram usually involves four views: a front and a side of each breast. For each view, the breast is squeezed between two plates to spread the tissue apart and allow a low dose of radiation.
"There is a moment of discomfort. It is tight, but then it's done. The total amount of compression time is 40 to 50 seconds for all four views," says McMullen, who personally receives a mammogram each year.
Source: Allina Patient Education, Mammograms, Clinical Breast Exams and Self-exams, rad-ahc-14066 (3/08); American Cancer Society; Leann McMullen, radiology coordinator, Allina Medical Clinic-Coon Rapids Reviewed by: Timothy Sielaff, MD, PhD, FACS, president, Virginia Piper Cancer Institute; Carol Bergen, RN, manager, Piper Breast Center; Deborah Day, MD, medical director, Piper Breast Center First Published: 10/06/2003 Last Reviewed: 08/25/2009 | |
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