{"id":2667,"date":"2022-02-04T17:19:03","date_gmt":"2022-02-04T17:19:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pinkpromise.org\/india\/?page_id=2667"},"modified":"2025-10-06T08:18:51","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T08:18:51","slug":"why-mammography","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pinkpromise.org\/india\/why-mammography\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Mammography"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Why Mammography?<\/span><\/h1><\/div><\/header>
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Let\u2019s first understand a bit about breast cancer. Breast cancer starts when cells inside the breast start growing out of control. Breast cancer cells usually form a tumour which can be seen with a medical image called Mammogram in very early stages. When tumour grows big enough, it can be felt as a lump with hands too. However, most breast lumps are not cancerous. They are called benign lumps that do not spread outside the breasts to other organs. What is very important is to screen regularly, even when you feel absolutely healthy.<\/p>\n

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Why should I regularly screen for Breast Cancer?<\/b><\/span><\/h2><\/div><\/header>
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No woman is safe from breast cancer. No one can prevent it. But if detected early, breast cancer is completely curable in most. Screening will help you find early signs of breast cancer (if any) before any symptoms. By the time symptoms appear or when you can feel the lump with your hand, the disease is often at an advanced stage – needing painful interventions and your survival chances are compromised.<\/p>\n

Although science says screening is lifesaving, your mind might still play tricks with you by giving excuses such as the ones below. Don\u2019t let any of them distract you:<\/p>\n

Excuse 1: \u201cI feel healthy. Why screen?\u201d<\/p>\n

Excuse 2: \u201cI do self-examination. I don\u2019t feel lump or see other symptoms. Why screen?\u201d<\/p>\n

Excuse 3: \u201cI am very busy. No time\u201d<\/p>\n

Excuse 4: \u201cI have no family history. I may not get breast cancer\u201d<\/p>\n

Excuse 5: \u201cI eat healthy and I exercise. Why screen?\u201d<\/p>\n

Excuse 6: \u201cI don\u2019t want bad news\u201d<\/p>\n

Excuse 7: \u201cScreening will expose me to radiation\u201d<\/p>\n

Mental stress to the loved ones and a regret that one could have screened regularly after late diagnosis, are not worth compared to the small inconvenience and self-discipline of screening yourself once a year with mammography if you are above 40 years of age.<\/p>\n

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How does early detection of Breast Cancer help?<\/b><\/span><\/h2><\/div><\/header>
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If breast cancer is found early, there are more treatment options and better chances of cure and survival. Women whose breast cancer is detected at an early stage have a 93 percent or higher survival rate in the first five years1<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

Although the risk of breast cancer increases with age, a publication reports that 52% of all women suffering from breast cancer are in the 40-49 years age bracket and a significant number of patients are below 40 years of age2<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

Hence for women leading urban lifestyles, the general recommendation is to start annual mammography after the age of 40 for average risk women. Whereas if there is a family history of breast or cervical cancers, it is better to start regular screening after 30 years of age. Younger women generally have dense breast tissue compared to older women and hence 3D mammography becomes even more important to ask for.<\/p>\n

1<\/sup>https:\/\/www.carolmilgardbreastcenter.org\/early-detection<\/p>\n

2<\/sup>https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4991144\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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Why Mammography? Why not the other imaging techniques like self-breast-exams, ultrasound, and MRI?<\/b><\/span><\/h2><\/div><\/header>
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