What Does the Doctor Look for on a Mammogram?
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Feel More Informed and Empowered in Your Healthcare Journey!
Physicians use imaging tests, such as mammograms, to diagnose breast cancer. Since a mammogram creates a clear X-ray picture of the breast, it can reveal abnormalities that may indicate breast cancer in a woman up to three years before she can feel it.
If you’ve never undergone this routine breast screening test, you’re probably wondering what the doctor looks for in the images. Understanding what they’re searching for can help you feel more informed and empowered in your healthcare journey.
What Breast Changes Doctors Look for on a Mammogram
If you have old mammograms, your doctor will compare them with the new ones to look for new findings or confirm what was already present on the previous mammograms. While findings with no significant changes from older mammograms won’t need further tests, new breast changes might indicate cancer. Breast Cancer Car Donations shares what doctors take note of when reading mammograms:
1. Masses or Lumps
A mass or lump in the breast tissue is one of the most common and recognizable signs of breast cancer. A mass may appear as a dense and solid area different from the surrounding tissue. Doctors carefully examine its size, shape, and location while considering the patient’s age and medical history before recommending further testing.
2. Calcifications
Calcifications are calcium deposits within the breast tissue that appear as white spots on a mammogram. Macrocalcifications refer to larger calcium deposits stemming from old injuries, aging breast arteries, or inflammation. Since these are often non-cancerous, patients showing macrocalcifications on their mammograms typically don’t require further testing.
However, microcalcifications that show up as small spots on a mammogram may indicate cancer, depending on the calcification’s shape and layout. Doctors may recommend a biopsy if they find the microcalcification’s look and pattern suspicious.
3. Architectural Distortion
The breast structure appears consistent and uniform on the mammogram of a cancer-free woman. However, structural changes can signify a developing cancerous mass. Moreover, architectural distortion in the breast typically indicates a noticeable change in the breast tissue, including a distorted duct pulled toward a certain point or an abnormal tissue growth.
4. Asymmetry
Normal breasts should be similar in size, shape, and density. Asymmetries appear as white areas that don’t resemble the normal breast tissue pattern. A mammogram that shows a noticeable difference between the two breasts could be a sign of cancer. In such cases, doctors require more imaging tests to either confirm or rule out cancer.
How You Can Easily Extend Life-Saving Aid to Women Diagnosed with Breast Cancer
Mammogram results can either strike fear or dispel it in a woman depending on the findings. For women whose financial resources are very much limited, a breast cancer finding after a mammogram could be devastating. Their uppermost concern would be how to get the money for their treatment.
You can do something simple to help ease their worried minds: Donate any vehicle you can spare to us at Breast Cancer Car Donations.
We’ll sell your donated car through an auction and use the proceeds to help fund the life-saving programs of our charity partners. Thus, thanks to your donation, concerned women in your community will be able to gain easy access to top medical facilities where they can get free breast cancer screening and diagnosis.
For those who have been diagnosed with the disease and who can’t afford the high costs of breast cancer treatment, our charity partners will provide them with financial assistance to help cover the costs of their full treatment, doctor consultations, hospital fees, medications, follow-up care, and other essential healthcare services they need.
Our nonprofit partners are also active in promoting breast cancer awareness and providing prevention, education, and counseling services to the public.
Since our charity partners are IRS-certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, your donation will qualify you to claim the maximum tax deduction in the next tax season.
We’ll also provide you with a professional towing service anywhere in the United States at no cost to you.
On top of these material rewards, your donation will allow you to enjoy a most satisfying giving experience, knowing that your gift will be used to help save lives.
You can donate almost any type of vehicle whatever its age or condition. Visit this page to learn more about this.
To get to know our simple and convenient vehicle donation process, check out our FAQs page. Don’t hesitate to call us through our 24/7 toll-free hotline at 866-540-5069 or leave us a message here if you have any concerns or questions.
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Donate Your Car to Show You Care Today!
Your car donation is one of the best ways to show the anxiety-filled breast cancer patients in your area that you care for them. Call Breast Cancer Car Donations at 866-540-5069 or fill out our secure online donation form now!
Last Updated: July 20th, 2023