{"id":4104,"date":"2018-09-10T08:45:02","date_gmt":"2018-09-10T13:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/?p=4104"},"modified":"2025-12-10T16:09:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T22:09:24","slug":"mammograms-might-save-your-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/mammograms-might-save-your-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Does it hurt to get a mammogram?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cThat\u2019s it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was no big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy didn\u2019t I do that sooner?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t believe I waited so long!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>These are the most common statements Allison Gleason, a mammography supervisor for OSF HealthCare, hears from women right after their first mammogram. They\u2019re relieved and usually feel a little silly about having been afraid of the screening in the first place.<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin: 10px; float: right;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"My First Mammogram\" src=\"https:\/\/freshpaint-video.com\/d7bef322-4e14-46ae-bccd-a1dc9ff764d7\/b643d755-b558-4def-957a-4555b3a01943\" width=\"426\" height=\"240\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>But fear is a common cause of women holding off getting<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=HBKtO-i4IiM\"> their first mammogram<\/a>. After all, there is a lot of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/top-5-mammogram-myths\/\">misinformation<\/a> circulating about mammograms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s a fear of the unknown and a fear that comes from what they hear from other women,\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gleason said. \u201cWomen often hear about how bad it hurts. Then, usually after you take the first picture they\u2019ll start laughing and say, \u2018Is that it?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not as bad as you heard.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>How long does a mammogram take?<\/h2>\n<p>A normal breast cancer screening consists of four pictures \u2013 two from side views and two<\/p>\n<p>from the front view, and the mammogram itself takes less than 10 minutes, Gleason said. The images should get everything from the collar bone to the middle of the chest. There are some questions to answer and some paperwork to fill out beforehand, so the whole thing takes less than 30 minutes.<\/p>\n<h2>What if my mammogram is painful?<\/h2>\n<p>A mammogram shouldn\u2019t hurt. It is uncomfortable \u2013 after all, the machine compresses the\u00a0breasts to see through the layers of breast tissue \u2013 but it shouldn\u2019t be a painful experience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019re experiencing pain, you should definitely say something so the mammography technician can adjust what they\u2019re doing,\u201d Gleason said.<\/p>\n<p>At OSF, she added, the team is very sympathetic to women who are having their first mammogram and are scared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReally talk to your mammography tech,\u201d Gleason suggested for mammogram first-timers. \u201cLet them know you\u2019re having anxiety, it\u2019s your first one and you don\u2019t know what to expect. We\u2019ll walk you through it, try to calm you down, explain it all as it happens.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Are mammograms more painful for large breasts?<\/h2>\n<p>Your level of discomfort can be impacted by the size of your breasts, the density of your\u00a0breasts, the positioning of your breasts in the machine and even where you are in your menstrual cycle. But if the discomfort rises to an intolerable pain level, you should speak up right away.<\/p>\n<div class=\"alignright cta\">\n<p>Take breast health into your own hands.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/breast-health\/services\/mammogram\/\">Schedule your mammogram today.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Annual mammograms make a difference<\/h2>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cancer.org\/cancer\/breast-cancer\/screening-tests-and-early-detection\/american-cancer-society-recommendations-for-the-early-detection-of-breast-cancer.html\">American Cancer Society<\/a> recommends women get a screening mammogram annually beginning at age 40.<\/p>\n<p>Annual mammograms are vital to catching breast cancer early, before it can spread. When breast cancer is detected early, cancer treatment is less invasive and typically leads to better outcomes.<\/p>\n<p>Schedule your mammogram as soon as possible, if you fit the criteria, because mammograms help save lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fear is a common cause of women holding off getting their first mammogram. After all, there is a lot of misinformation circulating about mammograms. Get the facts and schedule your mammogram today. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":4215,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"no","footnotes":""},"categories":[101,735,108],"tags":[386,628,638],"coauthors":[692],"class_list":["post-4104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cancer","category-preventive-health","category-women","tag-breast-cancer","tag-mammogram","tag-screening"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Does it hurt to get a mammogram?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Fear is a common cause of women holding off getting their first mammogram, even though it&#039;s a vital part of detecting breast cancer early on.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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