Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Hear from a mammographer

The job of a mammographer is one of complexity and compassion

Hello, my name is Kathy Lauinger. I've had the honor and privilege of being a mammographer for 32 years. For the last nearly 10 years, I have been employed at the McLaren Macomb Breast Center.

We are the professionals that image the breast tissue with specialized equipment to aid in the diagnosis of breast cancer.

Often times, it is a challenging task – not because the imaging is necessarily terribly difficult or lengthy, but because of the anxiety patients feel when undergoing the exam. Nobody wants to hear that they have cancer. That's the whole purpose of a mammogram – screening for breast cancer. So, it's extremely important to be able to ease our patient's concerns by listening to, communicating with, and encouraging them throughout their visit.

We also do "diagnostic exams," meaning we are addressing new clinical findings such as a palpable lump, an inverted nipple, or any other change in the breast. These appointments are also follow-up visits at times.

These gals are usually very concerned (understandably so). Thankfully, at these visits, our radiologist looks at the imaging that was performed that day, and we communicate those findings with the ladies. Happy, joy-filled days are ones filled with hugs from patients, when we let them know the finding is normal or benign in nature. On less happy days, we let them know a biopsy is being recommended, and our nurse navigator sets them up with an appointment for the biopsy to be done. She walks them through the process, explains it thoroughly, and answers any and all questions.

Lastly, we, as mammographers, assist in the imaging during the breast biopsies. Our hope is always that the biopsy will come back benign. But in the chance that it is cancer, our hope is that it was caught early.

Fortunately, we see breast cancer survivors for their yearly mammograms 10, 20 and 30 years out from the time of their diagnosis. That's always a great feeling – seeing a patient whose cancer was found early, and they are out there in the world, living a full, happy life, many years later!