Jun 21 2007
My First Mammography
Even though I’ve a few years to go yet before I reach 40, often considered the standard age at which one’s First Mammogram is recommended, my family medical history is such that I went for my first baseline mammogram this morning. It was pretty much everything I had expected, what with all the boob-squooshing discomfort.
Now, I do understand the need for the breast compressions during xray. Really. And RadiologyInfo lays it out pretty clearly:
Breast compression is necessary in order to:
* Even out the breast thickness so that all of the tissue can be visualized.
* Spread out the tissue so that small abnormalities won’t be obscured by overlying breast tissue.
* Allow the use of a lower x-ray dose since a thinner amount of breast tissue is being imaged.
* Hold the breast still in order to eliminate blurring of the image caused by motion.
* Reduce x-ray scatter to increase sharpness of picture.
Nevertheless, while the technician was trying to make my amply-sized “chestal-region” into something more closely resembling a pancake, my inner cynic couldn’t help but wonder: “if men had breasts and had to submit to this procedure regularly, would there be some significant advancements in the whole process?”
As an aside, I do know that Breast MRIs have been suggested (to complement mammograms) for women in a higher risk bracket (with some significant requirements for what qualifies as ‘higher risk’), but according to the American Cancer Society’s guidelines, primarily because of a reported increase in false-positive readings over mammograms the breast MRI isn’t recommended across the board.
