Overview

A mammogram is an X-ray picture of the breasts, usually for a woman. Doctors and physicians use a mammogram to look for early signs of breast cancer in women. Regular mammograms are the best tests doctors have to find breast cancer while it is still in the early stages, sometimes as far as up to three years before it can be felt. All mammograms are different because all women have different breasts. This article tells more about mammogram near me in New Jersey.

What to expect during a mammogram?

The overall preparation and mammogram examination take approximately 20 to 30 minutes. Before the procedure, one must describe any breast symptoms or problems to the technologist performing the exams. Then the areas are noted with a special adhesive marker at the location of the areas before the procedure. At the procedure, one must remove any clothing, jewelry, or other objects that might interfere with the procedure. One must also be asked to remove your clothing from your waist up, and then you will have to wear a hospital gown to wear.

A technologist will place your breast on a plastic plate to proceed with a mammogram near me in New Jersey. Another plate will firmly press your breast from above. The plates are supposed to flatten the breasts, holding them still while the X-ray is taken. The steps are repeated to make a side view of the breast, and some pressure is applied. The other breast will be X-rayed in the same way with the procedure.

Accuracy and precision of a mammogram

While the test misses a few cancers and is an invaluable diagnostic tool, it does produce several false positives, about 6-8%, meaning the test can find a reading that looks like cancer but is not. This brings the need for further testing and causes needless worry; however, this temporary trouble is outweighed by the test’s life-saving identification of so many cancers. On the contrary, other pointers include the estimated 17% of breast cancers missed by mammography, which causes unnecessary worry.

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