Mammograms work best on older women. This is because the breasts of older women tend to be less dense than breast cancer tumors, and thus the tumors show up in contrast in the mammogram. For younger women, mammograms do not work nearly as well. The breasts of younger women tend to be denser and not contrast with breast cancer tumours. That is why mammograms are generally not routinely given to women under 40. Nevertheless, mammograms may detect certain signs of breast cancer very well in all women. Sometimes a breast cancer tumour will block milk ducts in the breast and result in calcium deposits forming in these blocked ducts. Calcium deposits look almost like little slivers of metal and thus show up very clearly on a mammogram.
Thus I would strongly recommend the use of mammograms in all women. But I would caution that they may give a false negative result in many younger women. In Dulce's case, when she discovered the initial lump in her right breast, she immediately had a mammogram. This mammogram did not show the tumor, despite the fact that the tumor could be readily felt by just placing ones hand on her breast. In contrast, an ultrasound of her breast clearly showed the tumor. Because Dulce's initial tumor was painful, it was thought at first that it might be an abcess, i.e. a pocket of puss formed by an infection. But the ultrasound showed that the lump was solid, not liquid, and thus breast cancer was the most likely cause.
The lesson in all this is to take regular mammograms. But don't
depend on them as your only tool. If you get a negative result, but
you still feel that something is wrong, then pursue other diagnostic options,
because a false negative mammogram is quite likely in younger women.
Kevin...