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Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
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Mayo Clinic Housecall
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How you prepare
By Mayo Clinic staffTo prepare for your mammogram:
- Choose a certified mammogram facility. Ask whether the mammogram facility is certified by the Food and Drug Administration. This certification will ensure that the facility meets certain standards.
- Schedule the test for a time when your breasts are least likely to be tender. If you haven't gone through menopause, that's usually during the week after your menstrual period. Your breasts are most likely to be tender the week before and the week during your period.
- Bring your prior mammogram images. If you're going to a new facility for your mammogram, gather any prior mammograms and bring them with you to your appointment so that the radiologist can compare them with your new images.
- Don't use deodorant before your mammogram. Avoid using deodorants, antiperspirants, powders, lotions, creams or perfumes under your arms or on your breasts. Metallic particles in powders and deodorants could be visible on your mammogram and cause confusion.
- Consider an over-the-counter pain medication if you find that having a mammogram is uncomfortable. Taking an over-the-counter pain medication, such as aspirin, acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others), about an hour before your mammogram might ease the discomfort of the test.
References
- Breast cancer screening (PDQ). National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/screening/breast/Patient/AllPages. Accessed June 22, 2011.
- Mammography. RadiologyInfo.org. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=mammo. Accessed June 22, 2011.
- James JJ, et al. The breast. In: Adam A, et al. Grainger & Allison's Diagnostic Radiology. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?about=true&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-443-10163-2..X5001-5--TOP&isbn=978-0-443-10163-2&uniqId=259733166-219. Accessed June 21, 2011.
- Smith RA, et al. Cancer screening in the United States, 2011: A review of current American Cancer Society guidelines and issues in cancer screening. CA Cancer Journal for Clinicians. 2011;61:8.
- Screening for breast cancer. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspsbrca.htm. Accessed June 22, 2011.
- Consumer information (MQSA). U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/Radiation-EmittingProducts/MammographyQualityStandardsActandProgram/ConsumerInformation/default.htm. Accessed June 22, 2011.
- Pruthi S (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. June 29, 2011.
- Yau EJ, et al. The utility of breast MRI as a problem-solving tool. The Breast Journal. 2011;17:273.
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