Why mammograms

Safe Cancer Screening. BC Cancer Breast Screening is committed to ensuring the safety of patients and health care providers during screening mammography appointments. Mammograms save lives. It is estimated that 1 in 8 BC women will get breast cancer in their lifetime. Mammograms are safe and effective. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products.

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Request Appointment. Mammogram guidelines: What are they? Products and services. With differing mammogram guidelines, I'm not sure when to begin mammogram screening. What does Mayo Clinic recommend? Answer From Sandhya Pruthi, M. With Sandhya Pruthi, M. Screening mammograms at Mayo Clinic. Thank you for Subscribing Our Housecall e-newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the latest health information.

Please try again. Something went wrong on our side, please try again. Show references AskMayoExpert. Receiving a mammogram During a mammogram, you stand in front of an X-ray machine designed for mammography. Screening mammograms at Mayo Clinic. Related information Mammogram guidelines: What are they? More Information Dense breast tissue Breast implants: Do they interfere with mammograms?

Conflicting mammogram results: What can I do? Mammogram: Can it find cancer in dense breasts? Breast cancer Breast cysts Breast pain Enlarged breasts in men gynecomastia Fibroadenoma Fibrocystic breasts Galactorrhea Hypercalcemia Inflammatory breast cancer Invasive lobular carcinoma Male breast cancer Mammary duct ectasia Mastitis Paget's disease of the breast Recurrent breast cancer Mammogram for breast cancer — What to expect Show more related information.

Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic. Related information Video: Mammogram for breast cancer — What to expect. Preventive screening during COVID pandemic leads to early diagnosis of treatable breast cancer Throughout the COVID pandemic, health care providers have been concerned about a growing number of patients delaying or skipping preventive screenings because they have been hesitant to see their health care provider.

Share on: Facebook Twitter. Show references AskMayoExpert. Breast cancer screening and options for supplemental screening in the dense breast adult. Mayo Clinic; Breast cancer screening PDQ — patient version. National Cancer Institute. Accessed July 7, Andreas A, et al. The breast. Elsevier; Accessed July 6, Related Atypical hyperplasia of the breast Breast cancer Breast cysts Breast implants: Do they interfere with mammograms?

Breast pain Conflicting mammogram results: What can I do? Don't be afraid. Mammography is a fast procedure about 20 minutes , and discomfort is minimal for most women. The procedure is safe: there's only a very tiny amount of radiation exposure from a mammogram. To relieve the anxiety of waiting for results, try to go to a center that will give you results before you leave. Get the best quality you can. If you have dense breasts or are under age 50, try to get a digital mammogram.

A digital mammogram is recorded onto a computer so that doctors can enlarge certain sections to look at them more closely.