DeKalb Medical and the Clarkston Community Health Center partners to provide free mammography screenings to residents in the community. The Wellness on Wheels Van provided state-of-the-art digital mammography, facilitated by Dr. Gulshan Harjee, one of the founding members of the CCHC.
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women in the U.S, second only to skin cancer. Improved screening tests and treatment techniques are saving lives.
The most common screening method is the mammogram. It uses X-rays to scan your breasts. The images are checked for anything irregular, and doctors also look for changes from previous tests.
The images were recorded on film for many years. But now digital mammograms can store and analyze the information using a computer.
Some women say they avoid having a mammogram because they don’t know what to expect during a mammogram. To learn more about what you can expect during a mammogram, click here.
On average, only two to four screening mammograms of every 1,000 lead to a diagnosis of cancer. About 10 percent of women who have a mammogram will need more tests. Only eight to 10 percent of those women will need a biopsy, and most (80 percent) of those biopsies will not be cancer.
Annual mammograms are an essential part of wellness for women over 40. Making time for wellness, however, is a struggle for many busy women. DeKalb Medical offers extended weekday and Saturday hours in its mammography centers, in addition to its Wellness on Wheels Van screening offerings.
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