MISHAWAKA—Health care professionals want women to worry about breast cancer. A woman’s own concern about the disease could save her life.

One of the best ways to detect breast cancer early is through an annual mammogram. Doctors recommend women get a baseline screening mammogram at age 35, and then a yearly mammogram beginning at age 40. Mammograms are essential to diagnosing breast cancer at a stage when it is still treatable.

Digital mammography is becoming the standard technology used. Dr. Linda Tuthill, a St. Joseph Regional Medical Center radiologist, said the difference between digital and film mammography is much like the difference between the film and digital cameras you use.

“The benefits of the digital are that you get a lot more information,” she said. “We can actually display it in multiple different ways. We can magnify it, and the other benefit is that it looks better through the dense breast tissue,” said Tuthill.

Digital mammograms allow radiologists to get a closer look at the breast tissue as they search for any abnormalities. However, mammograms cannot show everything, so monthly self breast exams are important.

“All women have that glandular tissue,” said Bernadette Dolezal, a St. Joseph Regional Medical Center technician. “And you just have to become familiar with what your lumps and bumps feel like so you’ll notice if there’s a change. If it’s new for you, have it checked out. It’s probably not going to be anything, but we’d rather be safe than sorry,” she said.