Breast Health & Cancer Screening Guide
Everything worth knowing about breast cancer awareness and screening, in plain language: what to watch for, when to start mammograms, how to read your results, what it costs, and how to get it arranged.
Medically reviewed by Charles Ortega, PA-C, MPAS · Last reviewed October 1, 2026 · Educational information, not medical advice. Every article lists the sources its facts were checked against.
Understand breast cancer
What to watch for, what raises risk, and which common beliefs do not hold up.
Breast Cancer Signs and Symptoms
The changes worth getting checked, and what else they can mean.
ReadBreast Cancer Risk Factors
What raises risk, what you can change, and what a family history really means.
ReadBreast Cancer Myths and Facts
Antiperspirants, bras, radiation and family history: what the evidence says.
ReadBreast Cancer in Men
Uncommon, real, and often noticed late. The signs and the risk factors.
ReadScreening, step by step
When to start, what a mammogram is like, how to read the report, and what it costs.
Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines by Age
USPSTF, ACS, ACOG and ACR side by side, and how to choose between them.
ReadYour First Mammogram: What to Expect
How to prepare, what it feels like, how long it takes, and when results arrive.
ReadUnderstanding Your Mammogram Results
BI-RADS 0 to 6 in plain language, and why a callback is usually not cancer.
ReadDense Breasts: What Your Report Means
Why your report mentions density, and what to do about it.
ReadHigh-Risk Breast Cancer Screening
Who is high risk, how it is assessed, and how screening changes.
ReadMammogram Cost and Insurance in Texas
What private plans, Medicare and Texas programs cover, and where costs appear.
ReadGet your screening arranged
What a screening visit with us covers, and answers to the questions we hear most.
Screening starts with a primary care visit
We are a family practice. We do not perform mammograms or treat breast cancer. What we do is the part that makes screening work.
We review your risk
Your personal and family history, on both sides, decides whether the standard schedule fits you.
We help arrange your mammogram
Mammograms are done at an imaging center, not in our office. We help you get the right exam set up.
We go over the results
The report comes back to us. We explain it in plain language and make sure any follow-up happens.
Breast health FAQs
More answers in the full screening FAQ. For support and low-cost screening, visit Susan G. Komen or call its helpline at 1-877 GO KOMEN (1-877-465-6636).
Ready to get your screening arranged?
Book a visit at our Addison clinic. We review your risk, help you arrange a mammogram at an imaging center, and go over the results with you.