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BE PROACTIVE
For more information about mammograms or
to find a Breast Care Center near to you, visit
www.saintalphonsus.org
. To schedule a mammogram,
give us a call at
(208) 367-8787
.
MAMMOGRAMS
WHY REGULAR SCREENING IS A MUST
YOU PROBABLY HAD
your first
mammogram in your early 40s. And you
probably had a few more over the ensuing
years. The question is, have you had one
this year?
Mammograms remain the top screening
tool for finding breast cancer. And one of
the unfortunate facts of breast cancer is
that the risk goes up with age.
So now is not the time to slack off
on annual mammograms. Now is when
they are more important than ever. To
refresh your memory:
• Mammograms are low-dose x-rays that
can find growths or changes in your
breasts before they can be felt during a
breast exam.
• A screening mammogram looks for
problems even though you don’t have
symptoms. It’s a key part of preventive
health care. A diagnostic mammogram
is done when problems are suspected,
such as after a lump is found during a
physical exam.
Many health experts recommend
women begin having screening mammo-
grams at age 40 and repeat them every year.
Having mammograms regularly raises
the likelihood of spotting problems long
before they could be detected any other way.
A softer, warmer exam
As Pink Ribbon Facilities, Saint Alphonsus
takes pride in providing every woman with
a softer, warmer mammogram by using
MammoPad, a soft foam pad that serves
as a cushion between the skin and the
most sophisticated digital mammography
equipment, which produces images within
a matter of seconds.
“What’s great about digital mammogra-
phy is that it improves the visualization in
subtle changes in dense tissue better than
its film counterpart,” says Howard Schaff,
Health & Healing
www.saintalphonsus.org
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