Mammograms are a famous medical procedure, particularly with global awareness about breast cancer. Each woman should get an idaho mammography screening as a preventative measure.
If you are like many women, you may be wondering when to get a mammogram. In general, mammograms are ideal for women who are in at least forty years old but not older than fifty. However, you can always get this procedure done at age 35 if you have a family history of breast cancer or have genetic mutations.
How Mammograms Work
Mammograms are X-ray-generated photos of the breast. Doctors use them to check for any changes in the patient’s breast tissue that show signs of breast cancer. The procedure lets doctors detect breast cancer early before the symptoms surface. Mammograms are suitable for breastfeeding mothers and women who have implants.
When to Get Your First Breast Screening
Women tend to experience lots of bodily changes while they grow and mature. Such changes occur as women transition from childhood to adolescence. And even adult women also experience changes to their bodies. A woman’s breast tissue at age 25 is different from those who are in their 50s. Thus, the same type of medical diagnosis or treatment will not work for women of different ages.
Mammography screenings work with a particular principle, and the absence or presence of some factors can change the results they generate. Such factors include breast milk, breast implants, and dense breast tissues. They can minimize a mammogram’s effectiveness because X-rays cannot fully penetrate through milk, implants, or thick breast tissues. As a result, it is more difficult to spot cancerous tissue that might be lying around in a woman’s breast.
Dense breast tissues are often present in young women or premenopausal women. In some instances, these women need to undergo biopsies and surgical procedures due to suspicions of breast cancer. This is the reason a mammogram is best for women who are in their 40s and 50s. While the procedure is not recommended for women under 40, some exceptions exist.
Women who have genetic mutations must begin screening at 25. This also applies to women who have a family history of breast cancer. In fact, they should get a mammogram ten years earlier than the age of their family member who had this cancer. Usually, these high-risk women should get both an MRI and a mammogram at the same time.
