Will I get cancer from a mammogram?
The modern mammography system uses very low doses of radiation to make high-resolution (really detailed) images of your breast tissues and anything in it -- be it good or bad. Radiation is measured in rads. To give you an idea of just how low mammography is the views (individual x-ray shots) are around 0.1 - 0.2 rads. In patients with cancer undergoing radiation treatment (therapy) they often times receive anywhere from 1000 to 7000 or more, depending, rads in a normal course of therapy.
Unfortunately, if you have breast implants you will need several different views per breast instead of the average 2 views per breast. This translates into increased rads for those of you with breast implants as compared to an unaugmented patient. But lucky for us the government actually regulates this and passed a law that makes it so that the lowest rad dosage is used when a woman undergoes mammography. Be sure that your chosen clinic is accredited by the American College of radiology (ACR) to assure the highest quality of mammography equipment and technicians. Your chances of getting the least possible rad exposure is increased when the clinic is accredited.
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