The Cameo Suite at Mercy Medical Center and Cameo North at Mercy North Health Center feature private, comfortable suites with all-female staffs to assist you in addressing and monitoring your mammography concerns.

One out of nine women in the United States will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. Thanks to advanced diagnostic techniques many will go on to live normal, healthy lives. Early detection is key to the successful treatment of breast cancer, so regular breast self-examination is important. Nine out of ten breast lumps are found by women themselves. Though nearly 80 percent of breast lumps are not cancerous, self-examination is important—first to become familiar with your own breast tissue and then for lifelong self-protection. Inform your physician of any changes promptly.

Regular mammography, combined with physician care and breast self-examination, can triple a woman’s odds against breast cancer. Mammography, the keystone of breast cancer screening, can detect cancers two to three years before they can be found on a physical exam. The earlier the breast cancer is found, the more responsive it is to treatment. Many tiny cancers, which are normally only found by mammography, are cured 95 percent of the time.

The best method of early detection of breast tumors is through a combined physical examination and mammogram. While mammography is an excellent diagnostic technique it should be supplemented with professional physical examinations and self-examinations, using the following as a guide:

Our X-ray technologists are registered in mammography by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists and have had additional training and experience in mammography. Mercy’s Cameo Suite and Cameo North are accredited by the American College of Radiology and are certified by the Food and Drug Administration.

It is well accepted in the medical profession that the life-saving benefits of mammography greatly exceed the minimal risk from radiation. Mercy’s low-radiation mammographic machine is routinely monitored by a medical physicist and emits a radiation dose well below the maximum established by the Amercian College of Radiology and the American Cancer Society.

At Mercy’s Cameo Suite and Cameo North, we try to keep your wait short and comfortable. Our waiting rooms offer a variety of magazines and we also serve herbal tea. One of our receptionists will offer you a choice of videos on breast self-examination depending on your knowledge this valuable technique. If you wish, one of our specially trained clinicians will give you personal instruction on examining your own breasts.

For your convenience, we offer after hours and weekend appointments for your mammogram. For more information or to schedule your appointment at the Cameo Suite or Cameo North, please call 208.463.5442.