{"id":4309,"date":"2018-10-07T10:00:51","date_gmt":"2018-10-07T15:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/?p=4309"},"modified":"2022-04-22T14:04:54","modified_gmt":"2022-04-22T19:04:54","slug":"seven-reasons-mammogram","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/seven-reasons-mammogram\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven reasons you might be avoiding your mammogram"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Stop putting it off<\/p>\n

Find a location near you<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Mammograms are the single most effective tool in detecting early breast cancers.<\/p>\n

The simple screenings \u2013 basically a series of x-rays of the breast and surrounding area \u2013 are proven to save lives, but many women put them off or avoid getting a mammogram together.<\/p>\n

These are some of the common reasons women avoid mammograms.<\/p>\n

1. \u201cI don\u2019t have time for a mammogram.\u201d<\/h2>\n

Getting your mammogram should take only about half an hour.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes 10 minutes to register and 10 to 20 minutes to get a mammogram,\u201d said Vicki Shanklin, manager of breast center operations at OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2. \u201cI can\u2019t afford a mammogram.\u201d<\/h2>\n

Contact your insurance provider if you have questions about whether your screening will be covered. You might be pleasantly surprised.<\/p>\n

Medicaid<\/a> and Medicare<\/a> cover regular screenings, as do most commercial insurance companies. In Illinois, insurers are required to offer coverage for a baseline screening after age 35 and annual mammograms for women over 40.<\/p>\n

3. \u201cMammograms are painful.\u201d<\/h2>\n

Mammograms may be uncomfortable but should not be painful.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour technologist will work with you, and if it ever reaches the point that it\u2019s painful, please just tell your tech. She will stop compression or re-position you. She will work with you to make you as comfortable as possible while still getting excellent imaging for the early detection of breast cancer,\u201d Shanklin said.<\/p>\n

4. \u201cI\u2019m afraid. What if they find something?\u201d<\/h2>\n

Calcifications, fibroadenomas and cysts<\/a> are all changes to the breast tissue that may require further testing. Usually they are identified as benign, or harmless, and no further treatment is needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe benefit of annual screening mammography is to look for changes from year to year. That\u2019s how we look for early cancer,\u201d Shanklin said, but many times, changes to breast tissue are benign of even normal signs of aging.<\/p>\n

5. \u201cBreast cancer doesn\u2019t run in my family.\u201d<\/h2>\n

While certain factors \u2013 including a family history of breast, ovarian or other various cancers \u2013 can increase your risk of developing breast cancer, they are not the only issues to consider.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost cancers that we diagnose are in women with no risk factors at all. The fact that you are a woman, and aging, are still your most prevalent risks for breast cancer,\u201d Shanklin said.<\/p>\n

If you wonder what your risk factors are, you can take an online risk assessment<\/a>, or schedule a more in-depth risk assessment<\/a> with the OSF HealthCare Center for Breast Health, which includes genetic testing and plans for treatment or surveillance for women at high risk of developing breast cancer.<\/p>\n

6. \u201cI\u2019ve had normal mammograms in the past? Why do I need to keep going back?\u201d<\/h2>\n

Annual screenings are an important tool in detecting cancers early, before they have a chance to spread.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe time to find something is when it\u2019s tiny, before you ever feel it. The smaller it is, the easier it is to remove it or treat it,\u201d Shanklin said.<\/p>\n

7. \u201cMammograms are for older women.\u201d<\/h2>\n

All women age 40 and up should get a yearly screening mammogram<\/a>, but some women may benefit from getting them even sooner.<\/p>\n

\u201cTalk with your doctor on their risk factors and anxiety levels. Some women worry and just want to know. If you have a family history, you\u2019ll want to start your mammography 10 years prior to when your loved one was diagnosed.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stop putting it off Find a location near you Mammograms are the single most effective tool in detecting early breast cancers. The simple screenings \u2013 basically a series of x-rays of the breast and surrounding area \u2013 are proven to save lives, but many women put them off or avoid getting a mammogram together. These […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":4394,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[101,108],"tags":[386,805,628],"coauthors":[757],"class_list":["post-4309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cancer","category-women","tag-breast-cancer","tag-cancer-screening","tag-mammogram"],"yoast_head":"\nSeven reasons you might be avoiding your mammogram<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"They save lives, but many women put them off or avoid them all together. 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