iVillage

Stay Well Secrets: Doctors Share Their Health Screening Tips

Here, inside advice to ensure you do it right the first time around (13 Photos)

Norine Dworkin-McDaniel on Jul 8, 2011 at 12:02PM

chime in now

Single View
View All

1 of 13

Stay Well Secrets: Doctors Share Their Health Screening Tips

JGI/Jamie Grill/Blend Images/Getty Images

Stay Well Testing Tip #1: Make the Most of Your Mammogram

Schedule your mammogram for the week after your period, and the procedure, in which each breast is compressed between two plates and X-rayed, might be a bit more comfortable and accurate, says Stacey Vitiello, MD, a radiologist with the Montclair Breast Center in New Jersey. Why? “Moving because you’re uncomfortable makes the picture less accurate,” she explains. For extra insurance, pop an ibuprofen or acetaminophen an hour before your appointment. Experts also recommend bringing any prior mammograms so the radiologist can compare past and current films. “We’re looking for changes on the mammogram, so having those comparisons helps reduce additional, unnecessary workups,” explains Constance Lehman, MD, PhD, director of breast imaging at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.

Filed Under:

Comments See all

How do you handle health tests?