Mammography

Simply stated, a mammogram is an X-ray of breast tissue. Usually two images from different angles are taken of each breast. The procedure uses the X-ray images to find abnormalities within the breast tissue.

Mammography is a screening tool, searching for cancer when there are no symptoms of anything being wrong. A mammogram detects lumps, changes in breast tissue or calcifications when they're too small to be found in a physical exam. Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville performs about 12,500 mammograms each year. In 2002, less than 2 percent of Mayo mammograms done in women without symptoms found something suspicious that resulted in a biopsy. Of those biopsies, only 25 percent were positive for cancer. Our mammography services are available to women and men alike and to non-Mayo patients as well.

American Cancer Society guidelines recommend that all women age 40 and over have annual mammograms. A woman at high risk of breast cancer because her mother or sister was diagnosed with the disease should have her first mammogram at age 40 or 10 years before the age at which the relative was diagnosed, whichever comes first. The first mammogram done is called a baseline mammogram. This baseline becomes the standard for which all future mammograms are compared and the physician can tell if there have been any changes in the breast tissue.

A specially trained radiology technologist performs the mammogram by positioning the breast tissue in the screening equipment. Compressing or flattening the breast obtains a clearer picture of the tissue while using the lowest dose of radiation possible. The compression can be uncomfortable but will only last for a few seconds while the X-ray is taken. Some women may feel sore after a mammogram.

Sometimes, additional images for more precise pictures of the breast tissue are required. Although unsettling, this is not unusual and provides the images needed for more accurate results. A radiologist, a medical doctor trained in radiology, reads the mammogram.

The results of your mammogram are given to your before you leave the clinic to reduce any anxiety you may have about the screening. We give you a letter outlining the results and any recommendations, if needed. A copy of the report is also provided to your primary care physician or the doctor who ordered the test.

Many women have dense breast tissue. This tissue appears white on the X-ray. Abnormal tissue also appears white. Because it can be difficult to distinguish between the two, the radiologist may order an ultrasound scan or, in special situations, a magnetic resonance (MR) scan.