mammogram

[Slayer0005]

how does a lady who is consider to be flat chested get a mammogram?! ive always wanted to know how it happens. i asked my gf and she didnt know either so can anyone help me?! also do you think this question would be better suited if it was in et cetera et cetera section? :biggrin1:

 

[B_subgirrl]

I have no idea Slayer. Is there a personal reason you are asking, or just curious?

Personally I've only ever focused on the ouch factor for when I have to have one.

 

[B_Craiggers]

how does a lady who is consider to be flat chested get a mammogram?! ive always wanted to know how it happens. i asked my gf and she didnt know either so can anyone help me?! also do you think this question would be better suited if it was in et cetera et cetera section? :biggrin1:

They can do them on men (in a situation when a man finds a lump in his breast).

If your breasts are so non-existent that you can't get them pinched in the machine then I think they'll do an ultrasound instead.

 

[thetramp]

Basically it is possible with about every size, even for men.
Ultrasound can be used to clarify palpatory findings like knots.
It is not really good for the early diagnosis of a carcinoma as it is meant to be done in a mammography screening because it can't detect micro sediments of chalk.

As said even with men, but for men breast cancer is rather are, so that a preventive examination like the mamma screenings for women don't make that much sense, if a man experiences a growing breast or a knot in it he should get it checked out, but the mammography is mostly preventive examination, because the high pressure can actually increase the expansion rate of the carcinoma, so if there are sufficient palpatory findings, a mammography ain't the best way to go, either a biopsy or an MRI which unfortunately is the most expensive way to diagnose a carcinoma should be done.

 

[EllieP]

I've wondered the same thing myself, Slayer. I just did the boobie smash twice! Something was questionable in the first one. Anyway, I did wonder out loud to the tech that same question. She said it's done, but she didn't elaborate.

 

[thetramp]

Its easy it just get squeezed a little to fit, just look, even with small breasts the tissue is so soft and flexible that it can be squeezed to fit under the x-rays.

 

[petite]

How old do you have to be to start getting mammograms? I've never had one!

 

[thetramp]

That depends, breast cancer is something that can run in the family, so for a women that has a sister or mother that suffers or suffered from cancer it makes sense to start earlier than others. Family history is the most important risk factor, but there are others too, a women who never got pregnant is at higher risk, it also is a higher risk to have a pregnancy rather late, like 35 or 40 years. Whether the women used to suckle a baby for a long time or gave it the bottle also plays a role, the bottle increases the risk of breast cancer. There are some more, but i guess you get the point.

In general here in germany the recommendation is to start with the initial mammography at age 35, from age 40-60 or 70 it should then be done regularly about every 12-18 month. Women in that age get invited to so called mamma screenings which are mammography screenings just for women without suspicion, just to increase the chance of an early diagnosis.

 

[petite]

That depends, breast cancer is something that can run in the family, so for a women that has a sister or mother that suffers or suffered from cancer it makes sense to start earlier than others. Family history is the most important risk factor, but there are others too, a women who never got pregnant is at higher risk, it also is a higher risk to have a pregnancy rather late, like 35 or 40 years. Whether the women used to suckle a baby for a long time or gave it the bottle also plays a role, the bottle increases the risk of breast cancer. There are some more, but i guess you get the point.

In general here in germany the recommendation is to start with the initial mammography at age 35, from age 40-60 or 70 it should then be done regularly about every 12-18 month. Women in that age get invited to so called mamma screenings which are mammography screenings just for women without suspicion, just to increase the chance of an early diagnosis.

I must say, your English is remarkably good! How do you know so much about breast cancer and mammograms?

I am pregnant now, but I am in my 30s. I suppose I'll need to get one every year after I give birth. None of my family members have ever had breast cancer, but they all gave birth much younger than me. I suppose I need to be careful.

 

[thetramp]

I thank you for your compliment, and i am proud of my English because it is self taught, i am a rather good autodidact, which is also the reason why i have the knowledge of breast cancer, i dug in when my mother was diagnosed with it.

Congratulations on the pregnancy, if there is no suspicion yet, so no knots you felt yourself with your hands, you should suckle rather long, and wait at least 3 month after you stopped that for a mammography screening, because the tissue gets compressed and the early diagnosis is harder to make.

You should however, start to examine your own breast with regularity, that is something isolated from the mammography that can be recommended to about any women, do it once a month to detect new knots early and have the clarified as soon as possible.
In general the breast is the most soft about a week after the beginning of the period that would be a good time to examine.

 

[petite]

I thank you for your compliment, and i am proud of my English because it is self taught, i am a rather good autodidact, which is also the reason why i have the knowledge of breast cancer, i dug in when my mother was diagnosed with it.

Congratulations on the pregnancy, if there is no suspicion yet, so no knots you felt yourself with your hands, you should suckle rather long, and wait at least 3 month after you stopped that for a mammography screening, because the tissue gets compressed and the early diagnosis is harder to make.

You should however, start to examine your own breast with regularity, that is something isolated from the mammography that can be recommended to about any women, do it once a month to detect new knots early and have the clarified as soon as possible.
In general the breast is the most soft about a week after the beginning of the period that would be a good time to examine.

Thank you!

I am so sorry to hear about your mother! That must have been frightening! I would have learned everything I could also! Did she survive?

I forget to check for lumps. ManlyBanisters made a great thread about it a few months ago, but I forgot to check the next month anyway.

 

[thetramp]

Yes she did.

 

[D_Sparroe Spongecaques]

Unless you have a family history then you won't need a mammogram until you are much older Petite.

I'm nearly 38 with 6 children and havent had one yet.....though only one member of my family,paternal side,ever has breast cancer.

Remember whilst you're lactating you may find lumps but that could be blocked milk ducts,letting baby suckle should unblock them this making the lumpy feelings go away.

I check my breasts,and so does my fella,in the shower every week so i hopefully would notice and irregularities early on.

 

[thetramp]

Unless you have a family history then you won't need a mammogram until you are much older Petite.

I'm nearly 38 with 6 children and havent had one yet.....though only one member of my family,paternal side,ever has breast cancer.

Remember whilst you're lactating you may find lumps but that could be blocked milk ducts,letting baby suckle should unblock them this making the lumpy feelings go away.

I check my breasts,and so does my fella,in the shower every week so i hopefully would notice and irregularities early on.

When did you get your first child?
It makes a tremendous difference, a women who gets pregnant for the first time at age 35 is statistically about 3 times as likely to suffer from breast cancer as a women who had a child at 25. For women who have a child before the age of 20 the risk is even lower.

 

[B_subgirrl]

In Australia mammograms are free for women over 40. They are recommended every 2 years for women over 50, and not recommended for women under 40.

 

[D_Sparroe Spongecaques]

When did you get your first child?
It makes a tremendous difference, a women who gets pregnant for the first time at age 35 is statistically about 3 times as likely to suffer from breast cancer as a women who had a child at 25. For women who have a child before the age of 20 the risk is even lower.

I know,i've been a nurse for 16 years.A midwife for 14 years of that.

In Australia mammograms are free for women over 40. They are recommended every 2 years for women over 50, and not recommended for women under 40.

Same here in UK unless there is a family history of breast cancer.

 

[petite]

Yes she did.

I'm glad to hear it! :smile:

When did you get your first child?
It makes a tremendous difference, a women who gets pregnant for the first time at age 35 is statistically about 3 times as likely to suffer from breast cancer as a women who had a child at 25. For women who have a child before the age of 20 the risk is even lower.

I am not happy about that statistic. :frown1:

 

[thetramp]

I just recently came across a study linking a thyroid dysfunction to cancer risk.
Women who suffer from cancer have in a very high percentage a thyroid dysfunction, in fact the percentage is about 3 times as high as it was in the control group of women who did not suffer from cancer, Twice as often there were found antibody in the blood caused by a thyroid disease known as Hashimoto.
So to the women who know to have a thyroid dysfunction/Hashimoto be even more careful and check regularly for lumps and attend to preventive mammograms for early diagnosis.