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U.S. Naval Hospital (USNH) Yokosuka is a leader in offering this high-quality mammography to beneficiaries.

October is breast cancer awareness month, and all women over age 40 and women with a family history of breast cancer, are encouraged to schedule their mammogram. Mammography is an important tool in detecting breast cancer and can increase the odds of catching this cancer early and treating it successfully.

U.S. Naval Hospital (USNH) Yokosuka is proud to offer its beneficiaries completely digital mammograms. Digital mammography is proven to increase the rate of cancer detection and is especially more effective than film-screen mammograms for women under age 50. This benefit is therefore very helpful to the Yokosuka beneficiary population. Also, digital mammography uses less radiation than film-screen mammography.

The hospital is a leader in offering this high-quality mammography to beneficiaries. Approximately 70 percent of U.S. screening facilities still use the older film-screen technology. Additionally, the hospital is the only facility in the area fully accredited to perform mammography per the guidelines of the American College of Radiology and the Food and Drug Administration / Mammography Quality Standards Act. Furthermore, only USNH Yokosuka has American Board of Radiology board-certified radiologists on staff.

Recently, the hospital upgraded its mobile mammography van so that it, too, can perform digital mammograms. The mobile mammography van makes quarterly runs to the Sasebo and Iwakuni branch health clinics, and serves approximately 200 women a year. This upgrade ensures that the same state-of-the-art technology that is used within the hospital radiology department is now available to the beneficiaries at these outlying clinics.

Mammograms are effective in detecting cancer, and detecting it early. For every 1,000 screening mammograms performed, approximately seven percent will be called back for further imaging and 10 of these will need a biopsy. Of the 10 women requiring a biopsy, three to four of those will be cancer, two of which will be at such a low-stage that they are cured after initial treatment.

Women 50 and over should be screened for breast cancer once a year and women ages 40 to 49 should be screened every one to two years. Women at increased risk for breast cancer, such as those who have a mother or sister with a history of breast cancer, have had a previous biopsy with atypical findings, or have not had a child until after the age of 30 should start mammographic screenings earlier.

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer; only lung cancer is more prevalent. More than 200,000 new cases are diagnosed annually in the United States. In the general population, a woman's lifetime risk of breast cancer is one in eight. Catch this cancer early, get a mammogram!

Mammography services at USNH Yokosuka are ordered through a beneficiary's primary care provider. After the provider has ordered the screening, the beneficiary can come to the radiology front desk or call DSN 243-7418 to schedule an appointment. If the beneficiary has had prior mammograms, they are advised to request that these images be sent to USNH Yokosuka so a comparison can be made. For more information, please call your primary care provider.

Source: U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka

Discuss more about Mammography in our Mammography group