Essay Example on Health Assessment Tool: Mammogram

A mammogram is a health assessment tool that is used for breast cancer screening at the earliest stages possible before the symptoms and signs are felt or seen. This is usually a few seconds task, where the breasts are compressed firmly on the surface of an x-ray machine by a clear plate then pictures taken of each breast from both tops, bottom, and both sides. Mammogram seeks to detect traces of lumps or other cancer symptoms at the earliest stages. If some traces are found them further diagnosis is done using diagnostic mammogram, which is more intense than screening mammogram. Breast cancer has been rated as the second most common cancer in women after skin cancer, according to Stewart & Wild, (2014). Early detection will, therefore, mean that it can be cured easily, without having a biopsy.

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The mammogram can sometimes give false negative (Bird, Wallace & Yankaskas,1992). where the traces of breast cancer are hidden by the normal breast tissues and especially with women below 40 years, whose breast tissues are dense. Also, a false positive can be given (Bird, et at., 1992) where an abnormality that looks like a cancer lump is detected but turns out that it is normal. The false positive can lead to worriedness of the patient as more tests should be carried on which can be even more stressful to them. This brings to them a state of dilemma as they do not know their fate. A screening mammogram can, therefore, be not an efficient way of cancer screening as it requires other assessment tools to give precise results.

Controversies on the danger of exposure to radioactive rays always come up and many women fear being tested due to the wonders about these risks. However, the radiation in a mammogram is usually very little, less than a normal chest X-ray (Yaffe & Mainprize, 2011). There are no risks associated with mammography and so it is recommended to be done for as many times at any age. For some women, the mammogram is usually painful and uncomfortable, although it is usually for a very little time. Moreover, the skills of the physician matter a lot about the experience. It is usually traumatizing when the results are positive since they could be 80% true or 20% false.

There are many increased health effects that affect children with over-weight or children with obese. When a child is overweight, his or her health condition is at risk of being affected by chronic diseases. Some of these effects include; asthma, gallstones, high blood pressure, menstrual problems, diabetes, liver problems and trouble sleeping.

According to the study, tools used to measure this condition include three stages or levels. These are, the parent, the child and the relationship between the child and the parent. It takes around a year to access the three levels. It is important to consider the social, psychological and the behaviors of the parent. Also, consider the psychosocial and physical evolution of the child.

Questioning the parents about the kind of food that they give to their overweight boy. You should know if the food is helping the boy to reduce his weight so as not to become obese later in life. The purpose of conducting this research is to know how the child's social and physical life is affected. To know whether if the condition was inherited from the parent or if it is about the feeding behaviors of the child that cause the situation to happen. During the research, I gathered information on how to reduce obese disorder in the boy. According to my research, I discovered that due to the risks of being overweight, the child who is overweight needs full attention and to be taken good care of so as not to become stressful in future. This is because I found out that children who have these overweight problems, they are at a greater risk of experiencing early deaths than children with normal weight.

When parents realize that their boys are overweight, they should have a good relationship with them and also take good care of them by giving them the required foods that will help the child reduce the condition. They should take their children to a healthcare program where they will be taught how to deal with intimidations that they get from other children with normal weight. This helps them to have hope in life and also increases their self-esteem and also the ability to deal with their condition.

References

Stewart, B. W. K. P., & Wild, C. P. (2014). World cancer report 2014.

Bird, R. E., Wallace, T. W., & Yankaskas, B. C. (1992). Analysis of cancers missed at screening mammography. Radiology, 184(3), 613-617.

Yaffe, M. J., & Mainprize, J. G. (2011). Risk of radiation-induced breast cancer from mammographic screening. Radiology, 258(1), 98-105.

Karnik, S., & Kanekar, A. (2012). Childhood obesity: a global public health crisis. Int J Prev Med, 3(1), 1-7.