Mammography: So, You Think Size Matters?
Mammography technology accommodates any size: from AA through K (yes, there’s a bra that size)! But there seem to be quite a few misconceptions about breast exams and breast size, so we’d like to clear some things up:
1. You can’t be “too small” for a mammogram. Remember, from time to time we do them on men.
2. You can’t be “too big” for a mammogram. Note there may be the need for additional views to make sure we include all of your breast tissue.
3. Your breast size does not make you exempt from the risk of breast cancer. Small or large, you run the risk of breast cancer, simply by being a woman.
4. Mammograms aren’t all you need. Clinical Breast Exams (CBEs) and self-exams are necessary to know thyself. And size doesn’t matter when it comes to performing those either!
5. Different sizes from side to side? That’s the norm! Surgery is about the only time breasts are perfectly symmetric in size. However, if you have a change in size of one breast – one side becoming bigger or smaller- seek evaluation without delay.
6. And remember, if your size is enhanced by implants, you too need yearly mammograms and monthly self-exams (which are even easier because the implants flatten the breast tissue). For your mammogram, there will be a few extra views to move the implants out of the way in order to optimally compress your breast tissue, but exams for women with implants are as crucial as for women without!
So whether you’re “Twiggy” or “Dolly,” breast health is important! And so are your annual and monthly exams. Any size can be accommodated.
Image credit: thing = S,M,L,XL by Conrad Bakker via Flickr Copyright Creative CommonsAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Originally published 7/8/14 on mammographykc.com.