Does it hurt to get a mammogram?

“That’s it?”

“That was no huge deal.”

“Why didn’t I try this sooner?”

“I can’t consider I waited so lengthy!”

These are the commonest statements Allison Gleason, a mammography supervisor for OSF HealthCare, hears from ladies proper after their first mammogram. They’re relieved and often really feel a bit foolish about having been afraid of the screening within the first place.

However worry is a typical trigger of ladies holding off getting their first mammogram. In any case, there’s plenty of misinformation circulating about mammograms.

“I feel it’s a worry of the unknown and a worry that comes from what they hear from different ladies,”

Gleason mentioned. “Girls typically hear about how dangerous it hurts. Then, often after you’re taking the primary image they’ll begin laughing and say, ‘Is that it?’

“It’s not as dangerous as you heard.”

How lengthy does a mammogram take?

A standard breast most cancers screening consists of 4 footage – two from aspect views and two

from the entrance view, and the mammogram itself takes lower than 10 minutes, Gleason mentioned. The pictures ought to get all the things from the collar bone to the center of the chest. There are some inquiries to reply and a few paperwork to fill out beforehand, so the entire thing takes lower than half-hour.

What if my mammogram is painful?

A mammogram shouldn’t harm. It’s uncomfortable – in spite of everything, the machine compresses the breasts to see by the layers of breast tissue – however it shouldn’t be a painful expertise.

“Should you’re experiencing ache, you must positively say one thing so the mammography technician can regulate what they’re doing,” Gleason mentioned.

At OSF, she added, the crew could be very sympathetic to ladies who’re having their first mammogram and are scared.

“Actually discuss to your mammography tech,” Gleason prompt for mammogram first-timers. “Allow them to know you’re having anxiousness, it’s your first one and also you don’t know what to anticipate. We’ll stroll you thru it, attempt to calm you down, clarify all of it because it occurs.”

Are mammograms extra painful for giant breasts?

Your degree of discomfort could be impacted by the dimensions of your breasts, the density of your breasts, the positioning of your breasts within the machine and even the place you’re in your menstrual cycle. But when the discomfort rises to an insupportable ache degree, you must converse up straight away.

Annual mammograms make a distinction

The American Cancer Society recommends ladies get a screening mammogram yearly starting at age 40.

Annual mammograms are very important to catching breast most cancers early, earlier than it will probably unfold. When breast most cancers is detected early, most cancers remedy is much less invasive and usually results in higher outcomes.

Schedule your mammogram as quickly as attainable, for those who match the factors, as a result of mammograms assist save lives.

Final Up to date: August 23, 2022