Duke Medicine: Mammogram myth busters

The last thing that should prevent you from having a mammogram is misinformation. Yet many myths persist about mammograms, including who needs them, when to get one, and how effective they are.

Here, Jay Baker, M.D., Division Chief of Breast Imaging at Duke University Medical Center, busts the myths that surround mammograms. Read these facts, then share them with your friends and family to make sure they have the most accurate information.

The main cause of false results is high breast density. Breasts contain both dense tissue and fatty issue. False negative results, which mean there is actually a cancer present, occur more often among younger women than older women because breasts tend to lose density with age. Specialists recommend having a clinical breast exam to accompany mammograms to detect cancers that may have been missed from the screening.

Digital mammography may increase the accuracy of your mammogram exam, especially for those women with dense breast tissue. Likewise, having your images read by fellowship-trained radiologists improves the accuracy of your mammogram results. All breast radiologists at Duke have completed this year-long fellowship training.

Are you getting a mammogram soon? Here is what you can expect when you visit the Duke Cancer Center Mammography and Breast Imaging Suite: