Once a woman reaches the age of 40, mammograms become an annual part of her life. A common concern may be the risk of developing thyroid cancer due to radiation exposure during mammograms. Some women have even opted to wear a thyroid shield during their mammogram. But is this a good idea?
Ready for the answer???
It is never recommended to wear a thyroid shield during a mammogram and here’s why:
It gets in the way…
A thyroid shield often blocks areas of the breast that need to be imaged. When this happens, your mammogram may have to be repeated without the shield, resulting in additional radiation exposure to the breasts.
Radiation goes where it’s told…
When given a mammogram, the vast majority of radiation is directed to your breasts. The rest of your body can be exposed to a tiny amount of radiation, called scatter radiation.
Affects of scatter radiation are tiny…
Our bodies are exposed to small amounts of radiation in the environment each day. The amount of scatter radiation received during a mammogram is estimated to equal about 30 minutes of radiation you receive on any given day.
According to the American College of Radiology, the chances of you developing thyroid cancer after receiving annual mammograms from ages 40-80 without a thyroid shield, are less than 1 in 17.1 million.