Screening Mammogram
It is recommended that women over the age of 40 begin having a yearly mammogram. A mammogram is an x-ray image of the breast that can reveal irregularities and help to detect cancer early when it is most treatable. Mammography at 6-month intervals is advised for younger women at high risk of developing breast cancer since they tend to develop more rapidly growing cancers.
Increasing surveillance in women with a family history of breast cancer might increase the possibility that cancer could be found at an early stage when treatment is most likely to produce a cure. In a multi-center study, researchers compared mammography performance among women with a first-degree family history of breast cancer with performance among women of a similar age and no family history. The results indicated that the positive predictive value of mammography screening is higher among women with a family history of breast cancer than among those without a family history. The number of cancer cases per 1,000 mammography exams was 1.3 to 2 times higher among women with a family history of breast cancer than among those with no such history. Furthermore, they found that the rate of breast cancer detection among women with a family history of breast cancer was similar to the rate found among women who were a decade older and had no such history.
At St. Patrick Hospital, we have fully digital screening and diagnostic mammography capabilities. Call the Broadway Imaging Center at 406.329.5757 for your appointment.