Don't Let These Mammogram Myths Hold You Back
Dr. Wendy Levin, a medical oncologist and hematologist, debunks common misconceptions about mammography, including the impact of family history and exposure to radiation.
Transcript:
Jamie Forward: So, Dr. Levin, what are some of the biggest myths that you hear about mammograms?
Dr. Wendy Levin: I think there are a number of them that are really important. The first myth we hear all the time is that I don’t have a family history of breast cancer. I don’t need to worry. And we know that up to 80 percent of breast cancers in women that have a new diagnosis of breast cancer absolutely have no family disease. They have no genetic risk factors for breast cancer. So, being a woman and aging are the two greatest risk factors. So, that incorporates 80 percent of us or so. And so, not having a family history is really not an excuse to not get a mammogram. The second myth that also is important to address is that women are afraid of getting radiation from the mammogram.
They think that there’s going to be a lot of radiation that they’re exposed to at the mammogram, and this is dangerous. And the reality of that is that modern digital exams and even the 3D mammograms that are newer in the market today use exceptionally low doses of radiation. So, these are equivalent to about seven weeks of natural everyday background radiation from just living on planet Earth. And so, if you think about the benefit versus the risk of that, detecting a cancer early completely ellipses this negligible risk of radiation. And the third thing I think is also important because it goes across all socioeconomic backgrounds and really across all women. It’s the sense that if they find something, it means that I’ve got cancer and I’m going to die. And the reality of that today, if you look at the body of data, is that only about 10 percent of women are called back for additional imaging after screening.
And the vast majority of these follow-ups show benign or non-cancerous tumor like a fluid-filled cyst or dense tissue. So, I would just say that it’s entirely normal to feel anxious, but fear should not dictate your health choices. The mammogram just takes a few minutes. It grants you a window of opportunity to catch something early. And again, catching something early can transform that cancer diagnosis from a life-threatening crisis to something that’s very, very treatable, manageable, and potentially curable. So, don’t let that fear prevent you from getting preventive measures.
