What to expect: Getting a mammogram

Key Takeaways:

• Routine mammography is used to screen for breast cancer and evaluate changes in breast tissue.
• Screening should begin at age 40 for most women and at 30 for those at increased risk.
• Mammograms can be uncomfortable, but they are not painful.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women.

The best way to detect breast cancer early – when it’s in its most treatable stages – is through routine screening mammogram. 

Women at average risk of developing breast cancer should begin mammograms at age 40. Those at increased risk – like those with a family history or those who have mutations in the BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 gene – should begin routine mammogram screening at 30. 

In this blog, we’re going to talk about what you can expect during your mammogram.

Step 1: Check in and change

You’ll change into a gown from the waist up. You don’t have to take off your pants. 

We request you take off your deodorant, and we’ll provide you with wipes here as well. Some deodorant has aluminum in it, and aluminum is a metal that will show up on mammograms. A lot of times, it will be up in your armpit, of course, and then it will look like you have something called calcifications in your armpit, which makes us a little curious about that area.

If we remove the deodorant, the hope is that we won’t have that confusion of whether those are calcifications or the aluminum from your deodorant.

Then, we’ll take you into the waiting room, let you have a seat, and we’ll come to get you. 

Step 2: Going into the exam room and getting into position

Once we come to get you from the waiting room, we’ll introduce ourselves and bring you back into the exam room.

We’ll ask your name, birth date, and all the usual things you’ll have at a hospital, and then we’ll start positioning. If you wear glasses, sometimes it’s easier to take them off. You can set them anywhere in the room.

And my usual run through for first timers includes showing you the machine.

Step 3: Capturing the images

For our first two images, we’re going to bring you up onto the breast support table. The paddle is what’s going to put pressure on you. I do have to use some pressure.

It can be uncomfortable, but tell us if it’s too much, and we will stop. We are more than willing to work with you, but the pressure does help our image quality. We are hoping to get to a certain point, so we can have a good picture for our radiologist to read.

Your face is kind of against the machine, but I always tell people to just turn your face and look at me, so I can pull you in as far as I need to pull you in. 

I’ll compress you, and then I’m going to step behind the lead glass and give you breathing instructions. Most of the time, I will tell you to hold your breath to make sure there isn’t any motion.

We’ll do the first two pictures like that, and then I’ll move the machine to do the next two, which are a little trickier. But I’ll walk you through those again. The best thing for you to do for the entire mammogram is relax your arms and keep your shoulders down. We’ll move you as needed.

As needed: Ask questions

The most important thing is to ask questions. We’re very willing to help calm your nerves however we can. If you have any questions or anything you’re uncomfortable with, tell us. We’ll walk you through it.

As we’re doing the exam, feel free to let us know if it’s too much pressure, or let us know if something’s pinching in an uncomfortable way.

At times, we can’t avoid it, as it’s a necessary part of the exam, but if we can, we’re more than willing to work with you.

Mammography at WVU Medicine

Services are available across WVU Medicine hospitals. Availability may vary by location.

Mammograms can also be scheduled through the Bonnie’s Bus Mobile Mammography Program, which travels to all 55 counties in West Virginia.  

We are committed to high-quality imaging and patient safety. If you have questions about mammography or what to expect, contact your local WVU Medicine hospital or speak with your referring provider. Services are supported by board- and state-certified specialists in breast imaging.