Wrangell Sentinel -

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and Wrangell Medical Center is encouraging women to focus on this important healthcare issue by offering reduced rate mammograms.

Local women can save more than 45 percent off the regular price of a mammogram at WMC during the month of October.

Ann Kramer, who heads the Imaging Department at WMC, describes the mammography process, “Women age 40 and older may self-request a screening mammogram by calling the WMC Imaging department to set up an appointment. Then, at the given time, check in with the receptionist at the medical center’s front desk and one of the imaging staff will bring you back to the mammography area.”

Kramer added that the actual screening takes less than 10 minutes, but that patients should plan on 20 minutes to half an hour for the whole process. She also stressed that reduced-rate mammograms are for screenings only if you have unusual lumps and bumps or any pain in the breast.

“We will need the name of the clinician that you wish to have the mammogram results sent to,” Kramer said. “If your most recent mammogram was performed at another facility than WMC, we will need to send for those films and reports before scheduling you. Also, please don’t wear deodorant or heavy lotions; they may give a false reading.”

According to Kramer, patients will receive a copy of their mammogram report with a cover letter within two weeks.

For women still wondering what the actual process looks like, the National Cancer Institute website, http://www.cancer.gov, can help answer a few questions about mammography.

Mammograms are a low-dose X-ray picture of the breast. A mammogram along with a breast exam by your doctor or nurse can find breast cancer at an early stage when it can best be treated. A mammogram does not cause cancer. Because the amount of radiation used is very low, the risk of any harm is extremely small.