I joined Vision College on June
2013. One of the new experiences I gained here is doing Mammogram. Mammogram is
an x-ray image of the breast to detect any abnormality of the breast.
However, it is exclusively limited to women aged 40 years old and above. It is
because younger women have dense breasts.
It is suggested for patients to make appointments for the examination, preferably after the menstrual period. The patient is not allowed to wear deodorant or talcum powder because this will cause
artifact to the image. However, the patient is allowed to wear a 2-piece attire.
Mammogram can be uncomfortable due to compression to the breast. The breast need to be
compressed to produce a uniform brightness of the image. This is
where the patient feels pain. In addition, it has to be done twice, on each
breast! However, the compression lasted only for a few seconds. So the
patient just need to be calm and relaxed.
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This is how the breast is compressed
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Each examination requires four images,
two different views for each breast. I usually start with right
breast continue with left breast alternately. This is a systematic
technique that apply to all basic mammographic examination. This
examination usually takes about 15-30 minutes.
Later, all four images will be reported
by Radiologist. Any abnormality can be categorized into 5 categories according
to BIRADS. However, further examinations such as biopsy are
required to determine benign or cancerous lesion.
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Appearance of the abnormalities
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As time goes by, I am gaining valuable
experiences doing mammogram. It is a skill that not only to be learnt from
books, but through hands-on experience as well.
Noor Hazwani Bt Abdullah
DMI Lecturer
