Mammography is one of the most important testing among women. It allows to detect cancer lesions and thus the quick processing of this problem. Below the key information about this examination.
Mammography – what is it?
It is non invasive imaging of breast structures using X-ray irradiation It is not the most comfortable examination (The pressure against your breasts from the testing equipment can cause pain or discomfort) but definitely it is one of the most important. It is recommended to womenbetween age 45 and 70. It is rarely performed at young women as it can be unreliable and give false results.
How do mammograms work? A mammogram uses a machine designed to look only at breast tissue.. The machine takes x-rays at lower doses than usual x-rays. Because these x-rays don’t go through tissue easily, the machine has 2 plates that compress or flatten the breast to spread the tissue apart
Why should a woman get a mammogram ?
Many say it is better to prevent than treat.. This expression can be easily adopt to prophylactic examinations such as a mammogram. We encourage women to perform breast self testing and after reaching certain age to perform mammogram testing. Why? Because the breast cancer is the most common malignant cancer among women. Its early diagnosis helps to ensure a complete recovery.
Lesions which can be detected by mammography
For lay person every breast image might be a suggestion that something wrong is going on with the body. This is why we remind you o leave the evaluation of mammograms to experienced specialists who can differentiate abnormal and normal structures of the body.
What does mammography detect? Below the list of potential lesions which can be pictured during this examination:
- benign lesions, fibrosis
- calcifications,
- all types of tumors and nodules,
- cysts
- malfunction of breast gland structures,
- lipomas
Not all of the above mentioned l esions are life threatening or malignancies. If the doctor notices something disturbing in your image, you will be definitely informed about it and referred to further diagnostics or treatment.
Results and description of mammography
As it was mentioned,the examinations’ descriptions should be left to specialists, and not performed by ourselves.. Specialists use classification codes, which help them to communicate among each other. Radiologists distinguish inter alia:
- benign radiological lesions
- suspicious radiological lesions (probably benign)
- malignant radiological lesions
The international classification BI-RADS is used for image descriptions.. It is an acronym for Breast Reporting and Data System. There BI-RADS scores range from 0-6. The scores between 4 and 6 are the reason for concern as they stand for malignant or highly suspicious lesions.
Mammography and teleradiology – the solution of XXI century
Teleradiology bringsmany advantagesbothforpatients and doctors. It does not only shorten the waiting times for results (which is crucial in the process of early diagnostics and effective treatment)but also increased the number of specialistswho can view, interpret and evaluate the malignancy of detected lesions. This solution ideally answers the needs of XXI century society threatened with civilization diseases including cancer.
