This section describes the various methods of breast screening
The first step to treating breast cancer is knowing that it is actually there. A doctor cannot give you chemotherapy unless he knows that there is a cancer. Therefore, one of the first things that happens is a screening. There are numerous different methods that a person can get a screening. The first and most basic is a self screening. Then there is a breast ultrasound. There’s the X-Ray Mammography (Mammogram). And finally, there is the breast MRI.
The first is relatively basic. The self screening is where a woman can check her own breast and feel for any abnormalities. If she feels a lump of any kind in her breast that is not supposed to be there, she should make note to contact her doctor about it. The thing about this is that sometimes there are just growths. They come and they go. So, it’s not really the surest way to determine if its cancer or not. A self screening should be used just to get an understanding; if it is believed there is something abnormal, another more advanced screening method will be used.
A mammogram is an x-ray of the breast. Basically what occurs is the x-ray machine takes photographs of the breasts. The tighter the machine is against the breast, the better the images will be. Once all the images have been taken, a doctor can sit down and look them over. If there are any unusual lumps in there, the doctor will let the patient know and more tests can therefore be done. Mammograms have been known to greatly reduce the number of people that die from breast cancer because it is a great early sign.
A breast MRI (magnetic reconvenes imaging) is another way for a doctor to determine if there is a tumor or not. Although it is more sensitive, its image quality is not as good. Therefore, a doctor can tell if there is a lump better with the MRI; however, he cannot determine any great detail about the tumor like he would be able to do if he were looking at a mammogram image. There are advantages and disadvantages to both.
A breast ultrasound is not really used for breast screening. However, it is used as a tool to add to the mammogram. It helps doctors to characterize palpable tumors and it also directs image-guided biopsies. So, while its main function might not be the actual screening of a woman’s breast, its use is important for a further understanding of what exactly is going on in the breast and if there are, in fact, any growths occurring.
Getting screened is extremely important. It cannot be expressed enough how important early warning to a tumor is for a woman. If she can catch it soon enough, she can get it removed and hopefully battle it before the tough parts appear. The longer a tumor is allowed to stay in the body, the more damage it can do. That’s why it is imperative a woman get tested as often as she wants.