SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) – According to the American College of Radiation, women under the age of 40 years old are recommended an ultrasound instead of a mammogram when finding a suspicious lump. Dr. Sara Floyd, a breast imaging radiologist at SMH, said this is because ultrasounds are good for examining lumps and finding out their classifications and characteristics. The California woman that was denied a mammogram was 29 years old, said Floyd.
“In this case unfortunately this woman was much younger, only 29 years old so much younger than the age that’s typically recommended for patients to even start screening for mammography,” said Floyd.
There are exceptions to the recommendation, Floyd said if a patient has a family history of breast cancer they are recommended to start screening before they are 40 years old.
“If they had a mother for example that was diagnosed in her 40′s then it would actually be recommended that the patient start screening mammograms 10 years prior to that age,” said Floyd. “So 40 is not a hard and fast rule, it really depends on the patient’s family history.”
All lumps are a concern but not all lumps are cancerous. According to Floyd, women need to be doing their own physical exams outside of their yearly checkups. Additionally, if women feel like something is wrong then Floyd is urging them to follow their gut and make sure it’s taken seriously.
“Patients really need to advocate for themselves so if they have something that’s concerning them and its sort of being shrugged off or not taken seriously by their doctor, then they really should push the issue,” said Floyd. “They could even consider another doctor.”
According to Floyd, a cancerous lump can also spread into the lymph nodes of the armpit.
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