Importance of Mammograms and Early Detection to Prevent Breast Cancer

A mammogram is a tool, which is used by doctors to help detect early forms of breast cancer by taking a picture of a woman's breast through the use of an X-ray. Mammograms are not just for women but men, too as cancer is no respecter of a person's gender, age or race.

Women are recommended to begin having mammograms by the age of 40, unless there is a history of breast cancer in their family. If the disease is discovered early, there are many options and methods of treatment available today that should allow a person to completely recover. Early detection is very important.

With breast cancer being on the rise, women (and men) are being diagnosed every few minutes with this devastating news. Early detection is the best preventative for this gruesome disease, but what do we do if we have a mammogram that yields a result that is not completely accurate?

Most of the time a mammogram is highly effective and an extremely powerful tool to aide in early detection of breast cancer and has saved many lives. A mammogram is supposed to be very effective when it comes to detecting what would eminently appear to be a suspicious form or mass, which may or may not be cancer. If the mammogram detects something that looks abnormal or suspicious in any way, there should be more tests to follow as a precaution to rule out the possibility of cancer.

My mother had a mammogram and it showed a spot that was the size of a pea. She was told it was not cancer, for her not to worry and to come back to have another mammogram in a year or two. Well, two years passed and she went back for another mammogram to find that same spot was still there. This time, she was referred to a doctor, just to be safe. The doctor scheduled her for a biopsy, which determined this little pea size spot was in fact breast cancer, so they scheduled her for surgery to remove it. The doctor who performed the surgery did not remove enough of the surrounding tissue, thus causing the first spot to continue growing, which was unknown to her for two more years.

My mother is a breast cancer survivor, twice and I am so very grateful to the many new treatments available today for those who have had this disease. However, this could have gone in the opposite direction for her, quickly and I am so thankful to God that it did not. To think what could have easily happened if that spot had have grown during those first two years, or what about the second time, which should not have happened to her in the first place.

Mammograms are highly effective in early detection of breast cancer and women should have one on a regular basis. Although it is a powerful tool, if you have had a mammogram with anything that looks even a tiny bit suspicious, you should have your doctor perform more tests to verify and hopefully rule out cancer. Do whatever is needed to get the true results. I do not want to see anyone go through what my mother did, which could have been so much worse for her but thankfully was not. Early detection is the best preventative, so is the knowledge you attain.