WJZ's Nicky Zizaza eases some fears, encourages screenings for breast cancer: "Wasn't so bad"

BALTIMORE - October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is a yearly reminder for women to get mammograms.

Breast cancer is the second-most commonly diagnosed cancer in women, according to the American Cancer Society.

"Our goal is to just detect it very early when we can have the best prognosis for the women," said Dr. Niloofar Hakakian, a radiologist at LifeBridge Healthcare.

Preparing for a mammogram

Would it surprise you to hear that one of the women in your life might get or have breast cancer at some point in her life? 

WJZ's Nicky Zizaza walks through the screening process to ease fears and encourage women to get the potentially life-saving screening.

According to the American Cancer Society, a breast cancer diagnosis happens to 1 in 8 women. That was enough for Zizaza to get a screening on camera despite her fears if it meant saving a life and encouraging women to get a mammogram. 

Zizaza arrived at the Breast Care Center at LifeBridge Health at Northwest Hospital, along with her nerves, for her first mammogram.

After filling out a risk assessment form, Zizaza was whisked down the hallway.

"So how long is the actual imaging going to take?" Zizaza asked.

"The actual imaging is about 10 minutes, but you'll be there for about 20," responded Cheryl, the technologist.

Getting a mammogram

Zizaza admitted she was nervous. Some women dread the singular test, just the idea of getting the scan and waiting for the results.

Zizaza answered a handful of screening questions. Then it was time for the mammogram.

"So, I've heard it's painful and then some people say it's uncomfortable," Zizaza said. "By in large, since you do these frequently, what have you heard patients say?" 

"Patients say a lot of things, but having had mammograms for years myself and have been doing this for a long time, I would say it's more uncomfortable than painful," Cheryl said. "We do use the mammo pads, so we have a soft cushion."

Once in the room, Cheryl positioned her breast on the mammogram machine, and once properly in place, her breast was gradually compressed with a plastic paddle for only a few seconds.

"Keep looking at me and relax, your arms down by your sides, both arms down, and relax your shoulders," Cheryl said.

Cheryl slightly adjusted Zizaza to get a better view and image of her breast tissue.

"The compression plate will come down on your chest,' Cheryl said. "I will go behind you and take a picture and give you some breathing instructions and this will automatically release."

While tolerance levels varied, it was more of a clamping discomfort than actual pain. 

"Same compression, just from the side here, keep your chin up nice and high," Cheryl said. "It feels like a dull discomfort."

"Yeah, that wasn't so bad," Zizaza said.

On a monitor, Cheryl makes sure optimal images are captured and the process is repeated on the other side.

And just like that, it was over.

Zizaza says the screening was not as painful as she initially envisioned.  

The mammogram results

While Zizaza waited for her results, she spoke with radiologist Dr. Niloofar Hakakian.

According to the American Cancer Society, there are various breast cancer risk factors which include:

• Getting older. Most cancers are found in women 55 and older.
• Inheriting certain gene mutations.
• Having a family history of breast cancer.
• Dense breast tissue.
• Starting menstrual periods early and going through menopause later.
• And race and ethnicity.

"African-American women, they have a higher risk than the normal population for breast cancer," Hakakian said. "For this population, we have to be more careful and maybe start screening early to make sure we can catch the cancer if it develops early in their breast."

Hakakian says fears about the screening are "tolerable." 

Ultimately, it starts with scheduling that screening appointment.

"This is really easy to catch if we can just do it as early as possible," Hakakian said.

Zizaza received a call back for further testing but was told it's nothing to be alarmed about because it was her baseline screening.