Moms encouraged to take almost painless mammography exam

MANILA, Philippines - The Divine Grace Medical Center (DGMC) in Gen. Trias, Cavite is encouraging women, especially mothers, to avail themselves of a fully digital and less painful mammography exam using a state-of-the-art mammogram machine.

Dr. Leonard Lao, DGMC medical director, said digital mammography is the best option for women because the breast scan is almost painless and it produces more accurate results.

“Digital mammography is entirely automated and almost computerized. The compression is less, the results are faster and the machine can do complicated breast biopsies with minimum radiation exposure,” Lao said.

A first of its kind in the province, the Siemens Mammomat Inspiration machine, which DGMC acquired from medical equipment provider HealthSolutions Enterprises Inc., has been used by more than 200 patients since January 2012.

Doctors encourage women to undergo annual mammography tests because the Philippine Cancer Society reports that breast cancer is now the leading cause of death among women.

“Even teenage girls are susceptible to breast cancer so it is best to avail themselves of screening to detect and treat cancer cells early,” Lao said.