Just 15 minutes a year?
Piece of cake.

Screening mammograms generally take about 15 minutes. Download this free informational resource to learn more about this crucial diagnostic tool, how important it is to your overall health and how experts with Connecticut’s largest breast care center and radiology groups can help.

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Only one state has more women diagnosed with
breast cancer than Connecticut.

With those odds, and following national guidelines, every Connecticut woman over the age of 40 should get an annual mammogram. There’s no reason not to.

  • Mammograms detect breast cancer 87 percent of the time. In some women, it might find an abnormality that requires more specific diagnostic testing with breast ultrasound or breast MRI.
  • A typical mammogram takes 15 minutes out of your day. Results are often available the same day, especially in high-risk cases.
  • Despite jokes about being squished and squeezed in the machine, the latest technology, called breast tomosynthesis, is a more comfortable and a faster way of scanning the breast tissue for lumps.
Breast Cancer

The bottom line is that mammograms are the standard screening tool for breast disease because they can detect problems at the earliest, most treatable stage, usually before a lump can even be felt by your provider or during a breast self-exam. That has helped improve outcomes almost 2 percent a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Technology like mammography has improved our ability to find breast cancer, which improves a person’s chances of surviving the disease and returning to their life.

Making that happen is the goal at Hartford HealthCare’s Breast Care Center. We make outstanding care available close to home and our partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering, one of the nation’s premier cancer programs, connects patients to a broader range of cutting-edge treatments and clinical trials when appropriate.


When should I have a mammogram?

Our guidelines for breast cancer screening – adopted as part of our alliance with Memorial Sloan Kettering – are based on your risk of developing the disease.

If you are at average risk for breast disease based on your symptoms and family history, we recommend you:

If you are at above-average risk, recommendations for screening vary based on the source of your risk. Learn more in our downloadable guide.

What is a mammogram?

A mammogram is an X-ray of the breasts. A certified technologist takes the images for radiologists specializing in breast disease to examine. All results are then relayed to your provider to share with you.

The technologist cannot tell you any results from the mammogram, but the images will be loaded into our system for the radiologist to review. Their report is then sent to your provider.