Why is the Compression Necessary During a Mammogram?

Compression is necessary and significantly reduces the radiation dose and increases accuracy by:

• Keeping the breast still, so that there is less motion during the x-ray
• Keeping the tissue more uniform, resulting in a more even exposure
• Enabling suspicious areas to be more easily identified
• Allowing the use of a lower x-ray dose since a thinner amount of breast tissue is being imaged.

Please note: Compression does not cause breast cancer.