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Is this your first mammography?


This is how it works!

Mammography examinations are offered to all women between 40 and 74 years of age in the southern hospital region: Approximately 100 000 women a year take advantage of this opportunity.
Medical research has shown that mammography examinations on a regular basis can reduce the mortality rate of breast cancer.
 

How is the examination done?


 
Mammography is a simple x-ray examination that only takes a few minutes; the entire appointment will be completed in approximately 30 minutes.
To get satisfactory x-ray images the breast must be compressed a few seconds while taking the image. One or two exposures will be taken of each individual breast, depending on the breasts size and shape.
Specialists will examine the x-ray images. The diagnose will be sent to the patient by mail within 7-10 days.
You will receive a requisition for a mammography examination every 1,5-2 years.
 

How common is breast cancer?


 
6000 women a year are diagnosed with breast cancer, which makes it the most common form of cancer affecting women.
Approximately 1500 female patients a year die from breast cancer.
Lumps in the breast are very common and in most cases nothing to worry about.
Nevertheless, if you notice a lump in your breast that has not been there before you should contact a doctor for an examination.
At your routine mammography examination, your physician should be informed of any newly discovered lumps. You will also be questioned about use of hormone medicine.
 

Pros and Cons.

  • Mammography examinations on a regular basis can in most cases discover cancer before the patient can detect it on their own. Medical studies have shown that the mortality rate can be reduced by 20-40%.
  • No method for finding breast cancer is flawless, this also applies to mammography. A mammography image revealing a suspicious change in the breast can after further examinations turn out to be a non-malignant lump. This occurs in 3 out of a 100 mammography examinations. Usually, only a few extra image are needed or an ultrasound examination to verify the nature of the lump. However, in some cases test with a needle (biopsy) are needed or even a minor operation. All tumours can not be detected with mammography. Some tumours are detected between two examinations. An explanation for this can be, that the tumour is fast growing or that it for some reason does not show any differences in the mammography image.
  • Mammography can detect beast cancer at a very early stage. It is in most cases probable that changes of the breast will turn into “real" cancer eventually. But there is a small risk that cancer detected at such an early stage, may not develop into a dangerous tumour. How frequently this occurs is unknown, but it is thought to occur in two to three of 100 diagnosed patients.
  • The radiation dose you are exposed to during mammography is very small. It can be compared to the scattered radiation that we are all exposed to everyday, from space earth and natural radioactivity from our own bodies over a two-month period. The dangers are therefore minimal.
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2011-02-24
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Faktaägare: Faktaansvarig: Boel Heddson, sektionsledare radiolog  2006-06-21
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