Breast cancer is the most common cancer among urban Indian women, especially in metropolitan cities. The risk factor is increasing because of the changes in our life style. Like late marriages, not to breast feed, bearing fewer children, stress or sometimes infertility. According to statistics, one in every 30 women in India develop breast cancer during her lifetime. As compared to metro cities the percentage is less in rural women. In the coming ten years, it is going to be double. But it is not impossible to fight the disease.

The best way to fight is early detection of the disease. Through a combination of self-examining as well as regular checkups, early detection is very likely. Professionals recommend that women from the age of forty should start undergoing screening mammography every one to two years. Women who have a strong history of breast cancer should start having mammography earlier. It is a special type of x-ray imaging used to create a detailed image of the breast.

Here are some tips to get a better mammogram:
On the day of examination, do not wear any deodorants or spray; this can interfere with the mammogram by appearing on the film as spots.
If you feel some tenderness the week before your periods, you should avoid getting a mammogram during this period. The best time to have this is after the one week of your periods.
If you feel any symptoms or some changes in your breast, discuss it with your doctor before having your mammogram.
You should describe everything to your doctor if you have any family history of breast cancer.
 
Uses of Mammography
A mammogram is capable of detecting the signs of breast cancer two years before a health care professional might find such signs using only hands-on inspection. It is not just producing a film, but to ensure that the film of high quality to enable a radiologist to make a diagnosis that is close to being hundred percent accurate at the first time.
Women should preferably get their mammograms done at a facility that have specializes in mammography or performs many mammograms each day.
It is not just a public awareness about the breast cancer but also a message to be driven home that annual screening with mammography remains the best way to detect breast cancer at the early stage.