Can having a breast mammagram give you cancer?

Question

I am 26 years of age and I have a knot in my right breast. I have already had my breast examined by a doctor and now I am going to be having a mammagram taken of my breast in the next 2 weeks. My mother told me that having a breast mammagram can give a woman cancer when they are exposed to the radiation. I am terrified now of having this mammagram. Can anyone tell me is this true? Can a person really get cancer once they have a mammagram taken of their breast through the radiation?

And please people serious answers only. I don't need you all trying to scare me worse than I'm already am.

Answer 1

The radiation dose a patient receives is very low.

"The effective radiation dose from a mammogram is about 0.7 mSv, which is about the same as the average person receives from background radiation in three months. Federal mammography guidelines require that each unit be checked by a medical physicist every year to ensure that the unit operates correctly."

http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=mammo

From the National Cancer Institute:

"A mammogram does not cause cancer. Because the amount of radiation used is very low, the risk of any harm is extremely small."

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/breasthealth/allpages/print

"The modern mammography machine produces breast x-rays that are high in image quality but uses a low radiation dose (usually about 0.1 to 0.2 rads per picture). In the past there were concerns about radiation risks. Today if there is a risk, it is very small.

Strict guidelines are in place to ensure that mammography equipment is safe and uses the lowest dose of radiation possible. Many people are concerned about the exposure to x-rays, but the level of radiation in modern mammography does not significantly increase the risk for breast cancer.

To put dose into perspective, if a woman with breast cancer is treated with radiation, she will likely receive a total of around 5,000 rads (a rad is a measure of radiation dose). If she has yearly mammograms beginning at age 40 and continues until she is 90, she will have received 20 to 40 rads. To put it another way, the dose of radiation that you get during a screening mammogram is about the same amount of radiation from your natural surroundings (background radiation) you would average in a 3-month period."

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_6X_Mammography_and_other_Breast_Imaging_Procedures_5.asp

But, if you are still concerned, call your referring doctor, and ask if you can have an ultrasound to start. Most likely, your breast lump is a cyst. Most young women will have breast cysts. A cyst is not cancer, and they are very easily seen with ultrasound.

Young breast tissue is dense, and it appears white on mammographic film. All signs of breast cancer (which could either be a mass/lump or microcalcifications) are also white. It is very difficult to find abnormal, white pathology through normal, white, dense breast tissue. It is kind of like looking at a photograph of the snow covered ground and trying to find a volleyball. And that is one of the reasons why we do not do screening (meaning a patient who does not have any symptoms such as a lump or pain) mammography on young women. It very rarely gives any helpful information.

So, since you can feel this lump, you can show the ultrasound technologist exactly where it is, and she can put the transducer (or camera) right over that area. A cyst has very unique ultrasonographic characteristics. If that lump is a cyst, you can avoid a mammogram, by having an ultrasound first. Best wishes to you....

Answer 2

Radiation is cumulative. Radiation is used as a treatment for cancer, as well. Could it kill you? Probably, but the odds are pretty low one mammogram is going to throw you over the abyss of full-blown stage IV metastatic breast cancer.

On the flip side, you are 26 years old. If the problem you are having IS cancer, it's probably aggressive and you don't have a lot of time to fool around. Your DOCTOR suggests a mammogram, your DOCTOR who has spent how many years in study and practice? Your MOTHER thinks the mammogram will lead to breast cancer. I'd follow Mom's advice on chicken soup, but at 26, I'd get a mammogram for piece of mind.

I'm a cancer survivor, diagnosed with lung cancer at 34. I'm 4 1/2 years out, and getting x-rays and CT scans to be sure it's all clear. My oncologist says that after my fifth year of survival, it will be an annual x-ray for five years, then just an office visit. The reason? Too much radiation can lead to cancer... BUT, not getting scanned and having cancer can lead to death. What you don't know can kill you.

Answer 3

A mammagram does not cause cancer it is a way to see if you have it. Your knot could be something as simple as a cyst and the mammagram is a way to check on that.. The mammagram is necessary and you should not be afraid of it.. It is not very painful and it is helpful in the early detection of cancer.. Good luck and God Bless.

Answer 4

I have read theories that the mammogram can give you breast cancer. Supposedly, if the tumor is surrounded in calcification, then the flattening of the breast could cause the coating to rupture releasing the cancer cells. That seems pretty far fetched to me.
In any case, more lives are saved BECAUSE of early detection by mammogram than by waiting until a lump is detected by touch.
I assume they already tried a "fine needle aspiration" to make sure it is not a cyst?
Mammograms are uncomfortable, my wife hates them, but dying of breast cancer is a poor substitute! Get this situation on the fast track.
My wife is a breast cancer survivor of 14 years. There is life after cancer!

Answer 5

Definitely it will not give you cancer.
you are 26 year old with a mass already in the breast, chances are your mammogram will turn out to be inconclusive due to dense breast which are normally seen in your age. I think what u need is a breast ultrasound rather than a mammogram to determine if the mass is solid or cystic. from there a biopsy may be in order. also breast lumps are mostly hormone induced that develops when your menstruation is coming and may disappear 10 to 14 days after your menstruation.

Answer 6

Mammogram radiation = TINY, TINY, TINY
Early detection / screening for Breast CA is ESSENTIAL

A person w/ average risk:
In 20's - 30's, Breast exam by a physician every 3 yrs
Age 40+, Yearly mammogram and breast exam

EVERYONE: Be familiar w/ your breasts by doing occasional exams yourself -- ANY changes -- see your doctor

YOUR MOM is being RIDICULOUS , by the way -- does she have a medical degree? I thought not.

Mammograms are just part of being a woman these days, and I suggest you buck up and go -- chances are it is a benign cyst, but you are a fool if you take a chance.

Answer 7

i had a abnormality it turned out to be calcium deposits. i go every year when I was 35 it was six months apart. Plus I also have a family history of breast and ovarian cancer ask the dr about the genetic testing brac test. My insurance covered it do to family history.

Answer 8

There is no documented scientific evidence that anyone has ever gotten cancer after having a mammogram. None.
In fact, the idea that a mammogram gives you cancer is considered a MYTH.

National Breast Cancer Foundation: Breast Cancer Myths
http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/about-breast-cancer/breast-cancer-myths

Dispelling Myths about Mammography
http://brighamrad.harvard.edu/patients/education/Mammo/myths.html

Many Americans believe Cancer Myths
http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20070726/many-americans-believe-cancer-myths

Answer 9

Your mother is wrong. Period. Radiation is even used to TREAT cancer, the radiation in the form of an Xray or mammogram will not harm you. If it did, why do doctors recommend that all women over the age of 40 have one every single year?

Read this:

Answer 10

Unfortunately, there is always the possibility (though slim) of getting cancer from the exams itself.

Additional: I'm sorry to rain on other people's answers, but it really doesn't matter if they are low dosage or not, or if radiation is used as treatment for cancer. It is accumulative effects on individual tissue that matters. Some individuals will react adversely to even low dosages of radiation. People are being naive or ignorant if they honestly believe that the cure or treatment can't ever harm them.

You asked if it could happen, and so I answered correctly that it could, although the chance of it is slim.