Why mammography?

Mammograms are an important tool used by doctors to diagnose, evaluate, and follow breast cancer.  This highly accurate technique has been in use for about thirty years.
Mammograms do not prevent breast cancer.  But the prognosis for women with breast cancer is related to how early it is found.  And mammography is the most efficient tool for this.  The International Agency for Research on Cancer (part of the World Health Organisation) estimated that mammography can reduce the chance of dying from breast cancer by 35% for women over the age of 50.  Early detection also means that many more women with cancer are able to avoid full mastectomy.
In certain circumstances, a mammogram may be substituted or complemented by an ultrasound and/ or MRI, examination – both offered within MDI’s centres. Mammograms are not perfect. Normal breast tissue can hide a breast cancer, so that it doesn't show up on the mammogram. This is called a false negative. And mammography can identify an abnormality that looks like a cancer, but turns out to be normal. This "false alarm" is called a false positive. To make up for these limitations, mammography should be complemented by other techniques such as breast self-examination, breast examination by an experienced health care professional, and other breast imaging like ultrasound or MRI scanning.

How often to have a mammogram?

There is confusion out there about when and how often to get a mammogram. The frequency of recommended mammograms for screening for most women differ between countries.  In the UK, the NHS Breast Screening Programme offers 3-yearly mammograms for women between 50 and 69.  The American Cancer Society, the US National Cancer Institute and the American College of Radiology recommend annual mammograms for women over 40.  This is a large difference – a woman living to 80 and following the respective recommendations will undergo 6-7 mammograms in the UK, and 40 in the US.
The differences are driven by a number of factors, including the financial constraints, the authority’s view on the distress caused by false positives as weighed up against the peace of mind, the harm caused by the exam itself, the accuracy of the examination, and the prognosis for those with cancer.  These are likely to change between countries and, more importantly, between people.  Some people may have particular cause for concern (e.g. family history, genetic tendency, past anomalies).

MDI will examine women over 40, and who have not had a mammogram in the previous 11 months.  The decision, however, is ultimately the woman’s with appropriate advice from her Doctor.  MDI will send the report of screening examinations both to the patient and doctor.