MAMMOGRAMS Devices designed to increase comfort

A $5 pad can make the procedure more accurate and tolerable for many women.
By MARY MEEHAN
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Getting a mammogram, what with the pinching, the pulling, the pressure and leaning into a cold, metal machine with half your clothes off, isn't something most women mark in their calendars with a little happy face.
In fact, a Duke University study shows half of women describe moderate to extreme discomfort during mammograms -- pain that scares some away from getting the procedure, a key step in detecting breast cancer.
With that, hospitals are taking extra steps to make the process a little more comfortable -- soft foam, warming pads and lots of gentle care.
Women don't need much of an excuse to avoid mammograms, which are recommended annually if they're older than 40, said Becky Ingram, mammography technologist at Winchester's Clark Regional Medical Center in Kentucky.
"Sometimes it takes just one person to tell another woman a painful story."
Said Elizabeth Thatcher, chief mammography technician at the Markey Cancer Center in Lexington: "[Some women] make it sound like it is the worst possible thing that you will ever go through." She's heard it compared to extremes as slamming a breast in a freezer door.
The reality
But she said that in the 15 years she's been seeing patients, "I have yet to have a patient coming in for her first mammogram and walk out of the room saying 'This is every bit as bad as I thought it would be."'
In recent weeks, Clark Regional started using the Mammopad. The thin, foamlike rectangle sticks to the tray placed underneath the breast. It costs about $5 and generally isn't covered by insurance, but Clark covers the cost to encourage women to get their exams.
"At first I thought this isn't going to make that difference," said Cindy Brookshire, who used the pad at Clark. "But it took away the coldness, it reduced the amount of pinching."
The pad also allows the technician to increase compression of the breast, resulting in a better image, she said. Regular compression is between 20 and 28 pounds. With the pad the average is 38 pounds. That turned out to be an added bonus for Brookshire, who at 42 has been getting regular mammograms for seven years. Her doctors said the additional compression helped detect early-stage breast cancer.
"They were able to get a better view," she said.
She's planning on a lumpectomy, and possibly a precautionary round of radiation. She's optimistic about the outcome, and is determined to encourage others to get tested.
She has a friend who is "scared to death to go back. I tell her, 'Just because you've had one bad experience it doesn't mean you will have another bad experience."'
Not every hospital favors the pads, however. Angie Blair, supervisor of mammography at Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington, Ky., said consistent communication is key.
"The biggie is patient education, I think," said Blair. "You have to make sure the patient understands what you are doing and why."
Sometimes a simple adjustment can make a big difference, she said, and she will use a heating pad to warm up the tray that cradles the breast.