Myths and barriers to mammography!Why you may be afraid about undergoing mammography? OUCH! Mammography is painful.
Expect some discomfort as the breast is compressed for even distribution of tissues in a mammogram. This allows the mammogram to be done with the minimum of radiation and also allows details to be more clearly demonstrated. The compression is only momentary and the discomfort is for most patients tolerable. The fear of pain is out of proportion to the degree of actual discomfort and many women have been surprised that it was “less” painful than they expected. However, pain is subjective. Fear and anxiety “adds” to the perception of pain. Lack of communication between the patient (you) and the mammographer is another factor contributing to discomfort for the patient. The discomfort in mammography is nothing compared to the pain of childbirth and yet nearly every woman accepts this for the joy of a child. This mammogram discomfort may save your life! Today’s modern machines are much better in design and help to detect optimum compression. Most would have automatic release of the compression paddle once the exposure is done. So, if you go for the mammogram with a positive attitude, the experience would not be traumatic. My breasts are too small for a mammogram!
Although small breasts are technically more challenging, you should not need to worry about not being to have a mammogram. It is rare that a mammogram is impossible because of small breasts. I’ll be exposed to too much radiation... Mammograms are dangerous for me! I will get breast cancer if I go for mammograms
It is good for people to be radiation-aware, but its very likely that we are unaware of the ‘hidden” radiation that we are exposed to daily. We may receive radiation such as cosmic radiation from space, natural background radiation, radioactive materials that are present in tiny amounts in our food and drink, occupational exposure depending on the job, from fuel cycle processes and of course from medical related procedures. However, being radiation-aware should not translate into x-ray phobia! In addition, we forget that we take “risks” all the time, for example, when people decide to cross the busy road rather than use the overhead pedestrian bridge and when we decide to continue smoking when we know it has been proven to be strongly related to lung cancer!! A typical standard mammogram series would be equivalent to about 2 hours in the sun or 2 weeks of normal background radiation. Specialised mammography facilities have experienced personnel as well as modern equipment that are custom designed for mammograms. Combination of good technology and expertise makes it possible to obtain good quality mammograms with very low doses of radiation. Alternatively a standard mammogram is equivalent to the risks of: Travelling 70 miles by air Travelling 10 miles by car Smoking 1/8 of a cigarette Simply existing for 3 minutes at age 60 years!!!
Smoking is therefore far riskier than a mammogram, which may only take place annually compared to the many cigarettes that may have been smoked over the 365 days of a year. Some have calculated the risk of getting cancer to be about 1 excess breast cancer death per year per 6,000,000 women screened after a 10-year latent period. This is calculated in the 10 years following the exposure because cancer-causing effects may not show up for at least 10 years. Take home point:
The reality is, with today’s equipment, radiation is minimal. It is far more dangerous not to find breast cancer at its earliest stage than to be exposed to a low dose of radiation. In addition:
“No woman has ever been shown to develop breast cancer as a result of mammography” - Dr Stephen Feig, Radiological Society of North America, December 1997 | 
