Breast Cushion Said to Reduce Discomfort of Mammogram

A soft foam breast cushion significantly reduces the discomfort of a mammogram, according to a study presented at the annual conference of the Radiological Society of North America.

The study on the Woman's Touch™ MammoPad™ breast cushion was conducted at Falun Central Hospital in Falun, Sweden and at the MemorialCare Breast Center at Saddleback in Laguna Hills, California.

"This study demonstrates the breast cushion results in a more comfortable mammogram for most women, without affecting image quality," said Dr. Laszlo Tabar, Swedish mammographer.

"Fear of mammographic discomfort is known to deter some women from getting recommended regular mammograms. These findings may encourage more women to get regular mammograms, which detect breast cancer in its earliest, most treatable stage," he said.

Researchers conducted a clinical assessment of the MammoPad on 505 women at the California breast center and 838 women at the Swedish facility.

Each woman was given a mammogram using the MammoPad for screening one breast and no cushion was used in screening the other breast. Researchers concluded that the breast cushion reduced discomfort in 74 percent of the American women and 66 percent of the Swedish women.

In the women who benefited from using the MammoPad, the cushion cut the pain in half, on average, reported the researchers.

"These findings indicate there is a substantial clinical benefit to the breast cushion," said Dr. Susan Roux, radiologist and co-author of the study. "Many women who participated in the study also commented that the breast cushion provided a softer, warmer mammogram, compared to having their breast compressed between cold, hard surfaces without the cushion."

The FDA-approved cushion is a soft, white, single-use foam cushion that is radiolucent, completely invisible to mammography x-rays and does not blur mammographic images.

Other Sources: BioLucent