Tue, Aug 1, 2017 at 05:00 AM

What to wear and what NOT to wear to your mammogram

No one enjoys a mammogram, but there are things you can do to make your screening easier and more comfortable for you and your mammographer.

• Wear a two-piece outfit. You will have to remove your top and put on a hospital gown for the screening so choose one that will be easy to remove.
• Do not wear deodorant. It could rub off on the machine. If you forget, though, that’s okay. Wipes will be available you can use to remove it. 
• Do not wear lotions, perfume, creams or powders. 

“Sometimes these can interfere with mammograms,” says Marlana Holsinger, a mammographer at Marshall Medial Center South for 17 years.

 

You do not have to check on the results of your mammogram. Results will be sent to your doctor and a letter will be mailed to your home. 

Bone density scans are also done by the same technologists who do mammograms. Because bones weaken with age, your doctor will recommend a scan at the appropriate age to check for osteoporosis. The scan makes pictures of the hips and spines. 

“That’s what we measure,” she says. 

Holsinger urges women to keep up their annual screenings. 

“These are the things you really need to stay on top of so we can catch it at an earlier stage.”

 

She also recommends women keep up their monthly self-exams and share anything unusual with their doctor. 

“We want to detect the things you cannot feel,” Holsinger says. 

The latest technology in breast scans – 3D mammograms – is available at both Marshall Medical facilities. 3D technology detects 41 percent more invasive breast cancers. False positives decrease by 40 percent using 3D technology, which reduces the anxiety caused when women are called to repeat their test due to a false alarm.

   

If you usually get your mammogram at Marshall South, you should know the office moved earlier this year. Park in lot #4 on the north side of the hospital and enter the Women’s Center. The mammography suite is on the ground floor. 

If you use Marshall North, enter the outpatient entrance at the back of the hospital and check in at the desk.