X-ray and color ultrasound of the mammary glands

The United States recommends that women over the age of 40 need to have an annual mammogram to screen for breast cancer. They usually do not routinely perform color ultrasound of the breast because their breasts are usually very large and fatty, which makes color ultrasound laborious, and most importantly, the cost of a color ultrasound in the United States is about 2,000 U.S. dollars, which is 60-70 times more expensive than that in China, which is not affordable to their insurers. It is not uncommon to see breast cancer patients in their 30’s in China, and there is an increasing trend. Against this background, our hospital suggests that Chinese women over the age of 35 who do not have children at the moment need to have a mammogram and ultrasound of the breast once a year. Many patients wonder why they need to have a mammogram (the most common type of mammogram) after they have had a color ultrasound. This is because they are two completely different tests, and the combination of the two is the best way to rule out breast cancer. Color ultrasound is needed once a year for young patients, for young, dense breast, pregnant, breastfeeding, and even older or male patients can be applied, it is for the discovery of small masses, cystic solid mass identification has an incomparable role, not to mention the role of the discovery of breast cancer, this is not to be questioned. The patient has another question: since color ultrasound is so powerful, can I just do color ultrasound without mammogram? It is better not to, because molybdenum target is very useful for the detection of calcified breast cancer and structurally entangled breast cancer. Color ultrasound may not be accurate for the judgment of calcification, but molybdenum target is very straightforward for the observation of calcification, so the combination of the two exams is the best match, of course, there are also more expensive MRI, imaging, etc., but they do not need to be done routinely.