3 Mammography Facts That Every Woman Should Know

Posted by Tony Horwarth on September 20th, 2021

A mammogram is a type of x-ray that doctors use to check for breast cancer. It can be used as part of a routine screening program, or it can be done when there are signs and symptoms that suggest breast cancer. Mammograms have been around since the late 20th century and they have become one of the most popular ways to screen for the disease. In this blog post, we will outline 3 facts about mammography in order to educate women about this important tool!

1.  Mammograms can help detect breast cancer earlier

Mammography is known to be one of the best screening tools for breast cancer because it can detect tumours in their early stages. Cancer that is caught at this phase is more treatable and has a better chance of being cured! It is possible for women to live long, healthy lives if their cancer is detected and treated early.

In Canada, the mortality rates from breast cancer have been declining since 2000 as a result of improved screening methods such as mammography! This highlights how important it is for women to know about this tool so that they can take advantage of its benefits.

Currently, 40% of Canadian women over the age of 50 are screened every two years with a mammogram. The current goal in order to reduce mortality related to breast cancer within 15 years is 90%. Although we still have work ahead of us, there has been progressing made due to increased awareness surrounding these statistics.

2.   Mammography is not a one-time test

In some cases, women may need to have additional tests done on their breasts if they received a mammogram result that was abnormal. This involves having another x-ray of the same breast or taking a needle sample from the lumps in order to make sure that cancerous cells are present and properly identified. These follow up tests can be used as part of treatment for patients with early-stage cancers!

Mammograms should be performed every two years so long as there aren\'t any complications detected during screening. It is recommended for women who are at high risk due to family history, certain types of benign tumours, lifestyle choices (smoking), etc., to start getting screened earlier than age 50.

3.   Mammograms are not perfect

Although mammography is one of the most effective tools for screening, it does have its limitations. Some examples include false-positive test results which can lead to unnecessary stress and anxiety when no cancerous cells are actually present in patient samples or when aggressive treatment isn\'t necessary after all! There\'s also a chance that doctors may miss certain types of cancers during mammogram screenings if they\'re too small. It might be difficult to detect tumours once they\'ve reached stage three because these spots grow very quickly into large masses over time. This means that women need to continue performing self-breast exams on their breasts so long as there aren\'t any lumps being detected by radiologists during regular checkups!

Mammography has helped to reduce breast cancer-related deaths, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. Research continues to be done in order to determine how we can detect all types of cancers earlier on so that fewer women will needlessly lose their lives due to this disease!

We hope that you enjoyed reading through these facts regarding mammography and feel more informed about the benefits associated with regular screening tests. You can get more info at mammo.com. Remember, it\'s important for women who are at risk or have family members who\'ve experienced breast cancer to talk with their doctors about getting screened as early as possible if they haven\'t already!