The mammogram should be scheduled for one week after the menstrual period begins, when the breasts will be the least tender. Women are asked to avoid using deodorant and lotions on the day of the mammogram and should wear two-piece clothing to make undressing more convenient. The mammogram will be performed by a specially trained female radiologic technologist. The woman will be asked to undress and stand next to the x-ray machine. Two flat surfaces will then compress each breast for a few seconds.
Compression is necessary to produce the best pictures using the lowest amount of radiation possible.
It may cause some discomfort, but the examination shouldn't be painful. The risk of breast cancer increases as a woman gets older. About 85 percent of breast cancers occur in women age 50 and older. The risk of getting breast cancer increases for woman whose mother, sister, daughter, or two or more close relatives such as cousins, have had the disease. Women who have had breast cancer may develop it again.