What to Expect

Photo of Shannon Adamus, RTR, CBI, CDT
By Shannon Adamus, RTR, CBI, CDT Supervisor, Breast Imaging / Bone Densitometry
Royal Columbian Hospital

A screening mammogram is a very simple, quick procedure. It’s far less invasive than your yearly pap smear, but equally important to your health. And it’s every bit as important to have done regularly, especially if you’re over 40.To encourage women to go, the screening program is free for those between the ages of 40 and 79 in BC.

You can make your own appointment without a doctor’s referral, and you’ll be in and out of the screening centre in less time than it takes to have lunch. Here’s what you can expect:

  • At arrival, you fill out a short form about your health.
  • A female technologist takes you to a private change area, where you remove your clothing from the waist up. It’s best to wear a two-piece outfit – rather than a dress – so you don’t have to completely undress.
  • Your jewelry can stay on, but if you’re wearing deodorant it needs to be wiped off. Deodorants, lotions, powders, etc. can interfere with the x-ray, either by appearing like an abnormality or hiding small tissue changes.
  • You can put your top (only) on as the technologist comes back for you and takes you to the screening room, where she’ll ask you a few breast health questions.
  • The technologist then positions each breast in the mammography machine in two different positions to take the x-rays. Each time, your breast will be compressed between two plastic plates.
  • Your breasts are only compressed for a few seconds each time, and the entire x-ray time only lasts two to three minutes.
  • After returning to your change room, the technologist will ask you to wait for a few minutes while she checks the x-rays. She wants to make sure they turned out before you leave.
  • Once she gives you the okay, you’re free to get dressed and go.

From start to finish, the whole screening process shouldn’t take more than 10 to 15 minutes.

There are more than 80 mammography clinics in communities around BC, all with broad hours and easy parking to make getting your exam as convenient as possible for you.

So don’t wait until you’re worried about a suspicious lump or your family doctor has to suggest a mammogram. Go before, and go regularly. After all, they’re quick, they’re painless, and they can give you peace of mind.

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