Screening Mammography
A focused scan for Breast tissue, Early masses, Calcifications.
Overview
Examines Breast tissue, Early masses, Calcifications. Performed at an NABL-accredited Meridian Health centre with a same-day report and a free doctor review.
The full panel
3 areas across 1 groupEvery parameter, grouped by body system — no clicking to expand.
What this scan measures
Two standard low-dose X-ray views of each breast in a woman with no breast symptoms. It looks for masses, architectural distortion and clusters of microcalcifications too small to be felt — changes that can precede a palpable lump by a considerable time.
Screening is offered to well women, not to investigate a symptom. Its purpose is to find change earlier than examination can, at a stage where treatment options are wider. Anyone with an actual lump or nipple change needs a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound instead, whatever their screening history.
Symptoms that lead to this scan
- No symptoms — screening is for well women by definition
- Reaching the age at which your doctor recommends screening
- A family history of breast or ovarian cancer
- A previous benign biopsy that raises future risk
- Continuing a routine screening interval already established
Understanding your results
Most screening mammograms are normal. A recall does not mean cancer has been found — it usually means an area needs further views or an ultrasound to be characterised, and the majority of recalls end with a benign explanation. Screening also has genuine limitations: it can miss cancers, particularly in dense breasts, and it can identify changes that would never have caused harm. Being aware of both sides is part of an informed decision to be screened, and the interval that suits you is a conversation to have with your doctor.
Why the preparation matters
Do not use deodorant, antiperspirant, talcum powder, perfume or lotion on the breasts or underarms on the day — aluminium and metallic particles in these products show up as bright specks that can be mistaken for microcalcifications and are a leading cause of unnecessary recall. Book for the week after your period if you still menstruate, when the breasts are least tender. Always bring previous mammograms: comparison with earlier images is the single most useful aid to interpretation and reduces false alarms.
Mammography — safety and who should not be scanned
Full Mammography guideThis is a low-dose ionising radiation test. Published reference figures put a standard two-view examination of both breasts at roughly the natural background radiation of about seven weeks. That dose is small enough that, for women in the age groups where screening is recommended, the benefit of finding disease earlier is generally judged to outweigh it — a judgement that shifts with age and risk, which is why the screening interval is a conversation with your doctor rather than a fixed rule.
- Pregnancy, or possible pregnancy
- Screening mammography is deferred in pregnancy. If a breast symptom needs investigating during pregnancy, ultrasound is used first, and a mammogram is performed with abdominal shielding only when it is genuinely necessary.
- Breastfeeding
- Lactating breast tissue is dense and reduces the sensitivity of a mammogram. Ultrasound is usually preferred for a symptom during breastfeeding; where a mammogram is needed, feeding or expressing immediately beforehand improves the images.
- Age under about 30–40, with dense breast tissue
- Younger breasts are dense and appear white on a mammogram, which can hide a lesion of similar density. Ultrasound is the appropriate first test for a lump in a younger woman; a mammogram is added when the clinical picture requires it.
- Breast implants
- Implants obscure tissue behind them and can, very rarely, be damaged by compression. Tell the centre when you book so that additional implant-displacement (Eklund) views are planned and the radiographer can adjust the compression.
- Recent breast surgery, biopsy or an open wound
- Compression over a healing wound or a recent biopsy site is painful and can disrupt healing. The examination is usually postponed, and the timing discussed with your surgeon.
- Inability to tolerate positioning or compression
- The examination needs you to stand or sit still with the shoulder and arm positioned. Frozen shoulder, severe kyphosis, a port or pacemaker near the field, or limited mobility all need mentioning so the views can be adapted.
Who should consider this scan
- Women over 40 discussing a screening schedule with their doctor
- Women with a family history of breast or ovarian cancer, often starting earlier
- Anyone with a previous high-risk breast biopsy
- Women continuing an established screening interval
- Not for anyone with a current breast symptom — a diagnostic workup is needed instead
Conditions it helps detect
How it works
Patient stories
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