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Should Women Get Digital Mammograms Instead of Conventional Mammograms?

Question: Should women get digital mammograms instead of conventional mammograms?

Answer: Every woman over the age of 40 should have a mammogram every year. The data clearly show that we can save a significant number of lives if women come in conscientiously on an annual basis and have a mammogram. A digital mammogram is just another way of doing mammography at this point. It's no better and no worse than a film screen mammogram. There are advantages that don't have anything to do at this point with finding breast cancer -- that we as radiologists like the digital mammogram because they're easier to file, they're easier to retrieve, and somewhat easier to look at. But for a woman it doesn't make a difference at this point. There will be new developments in mammography that will come about because we have digital mammograms but those are several years away.

Diagnosis and Screening

Next: What Are "Spot Films" in Mammography, and When Are They Done?

Previous: What Is a Digital Mammogram and How Does It Compare to a Conventional Mammogram?

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