BREAST CANCER SCREENING: WHAT TO EXPECT
63WHAT TO EXPECT: YOUR INITIAL MAMMOGRAM
Your medical team will do everything possible to rule out breast cancer through the least invasive methods possible. Your breast cancer screening begins with a standard mammogram. Your technician will place your breast between two flat slates that are adjusted according to your breast size. Expect a tight fit, because the tighter the compression, the less radiation necessary to photograph your breast tissue. This process usually takes a short period of time, and most breast screening begins and ends here.
DIAGNOSTICS
Sometimes it is necessary for your medical team to request additional pictures of your breast tissue. A request for additional pictures is not cause for alarm; it generally happens when your radiologist is unable to determine what is revealed in your initial mammogram. For instance, breast density often makes tumors difficult to detect, so diagnostics may be ordered for women who merely have dense breasts. Harmless calcification may also appear on the initial mammogram that can indicate that a tumor exists that is not showing up on the mammogram. To avoid false negatives, additional pictures of your breast tissue are ordered.
Your diagnostics will not feel any different to you than your initial mammogram; however, in the case of diagnostics, pictures are typically magnified for a closer look, and tend to focus on the area in question. If the diagnostics rule out breast cancer, as they typically do, your breast cancer screening will end here.
SONAGRAM OR ULTRASOUND SCREENINGS
Often the above screenings can reveal that a lump is fluid filled, thereby eliminating the need for a breast biopsy. These devices do not require radiation, nor are they invasive techniques that require local deadening of your breast. In many cases your breast cancer screening stops here.
BIOPSY
Generally, your doctor will recommend a core needle biopsy, rather than a surgical biopsy. A needle biopsy is a less invasive procedure that removes most of the suspicious growth without leaving a scar or any other disfigurement, yet can detect breast cancer cells in the lab. It is possible to return to work immediately after a needle biopsy is completed, and there is little, if any, recovery time involved.
Your doctor will use a local painkiller to deaden your breast, and will remove most of the tumor involved. Most breast biopsies yield negative results, in fact even in women who have breast cancer family histories, the lab finds negative results 90% of the time. For those who do not have a family history of breast cancer, the chance of finding breast cancer in the lab drops to 5%
So, generally what you can expect is that your medical team will rule out breast cancer; however, if this is not the case, finding the cancer in the earliest stage possible will greatly increase your chances of survival.
THE FOLLOWING RELATED LINKS MAY BE OF INTEREST TO YOU:
FOR INFORMATION ABOUT CANCER PREVENTION, CLICK BELOW:
http://hubpages.com/_2pvzhao591xs4/hub/PREVENT-CANCER-THROUGH-DIET
CLICK LINK BELOW TO FIND OUT IF MAMMOGRAPHY IS RELIABLE:
http://hubpages.com/_2pvzhao591xs4/hub/BREAST-CANCER-SCREENING-IS-MAMMOGRAPHY-100-ACCURATE
