{"id":468735,"date":"2026-10-17T11:02:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T11:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/468735\/"},"modified":"2026-10-17T11:02:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T11:02:09","slug":"mammogram-101-what-a-routine-breast-cancer-screening-is-really-like","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/468735\/","title":{"rendered":"Mammogram 101: What a routine breast cancer screening is really like"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas \u2014 If you&#8217;ve ever had to rewind a VHS tape or burn a CD for a friend, it might be time for a routine screening. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and scheduling your mammogram is easier than you might think. In fact, it&#8217;s so simple. I&#8217;m gonna take you along for mine.<\/p>\n<p>When we were kids, going to the doctor meant getting a sticker or a lollipop as a reward. As adults, the reward is peace of mind. As we age, the health screenings can be a little daunting. At Solis Mammography, they offer a full range of breast imaging services.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m not sure if it&#8217;s the familiar names or the words of encouragement. This isn&#8217;t my first mammogram, but this time it&#8217;s personal. Last year, I watched my own mother go in for a routine mammogram, and doctors found early-stage cancer. After surgery and radiation, she&#8217;s now cancer-free, but will still need to pay close attention in the future. So now it&#8217;s my turn, but things look a little different since my last exam. <\/p>\n<p>The Smart Curve paddle changes the experience. &#8220;So it allows for a compression that actually contours to the breast. It gives us a more even compression. And it&#8217;s more comfortable. That&#8217;s the most important thing,&#8221; Joan Rodriguez said.<\/p>\n<p>The machine provides a better fit. Its 3D technology provides a better view. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;So in the past, what you see here is all they would see, just that straight image. Now with the 3D, you see how we&#8217;re going, moving all the way through that tissue. Now we&#8217;re able to see slice by slice,&#8221; Rodriguez said.<\/p>\n<p>Imaging takes just a few minutes.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;So we&#8217;re gonna take 4 pictures, 2 from up and down, 2 from side to side, in and out of here in about 5 minutes,&#8221; Rodriguez said.<\/p>\n<p>And while I can&#8217;t take you through every moment of my procedure, I can tell you Joan guided me every step of the way. Make no mistake, I may look like a &#8216;fairy godmother&#8217; in my blue cape, but Joan did all the magic.<br \/>&#8220;Women are gonna walk out of here; they&#8217;re gonna go, &#8216;wait, that&#8217;s it&#8217;,&#8221; Rodriguez said. I&#8217;ll have my results in 48 hours. No long waits, just peace of mind.<\/p>\n<p>Joan says just starting the conversation with a friend can make an impact. So I&#8217;m starting the conversation on air, hoping my experience makes an impact for anyone who might need a little confidence boost. &#8220;Definitely conversations that should be demystified and de-stigmatized because this being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I mean, I can&#8217;t think of a more meaningful thing,&#8221; Rodriguez said.<\/p>\n<p>    Scheduling your mammogram<\/p>\n<p>To get screened, you can reach out to <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.solismammo.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Solis Mammography<\/a> or visit their office at 7121 S. Padre Island Drive, Suite 100 (located inside Corpus Christi Medical Center Bay Area). Joan tells me that screening mammograms don&#8217;t require a referral and are covered by insurance. Solis also offers diagnostic mammograms and bone density scans. She says, &#8220;If you need a diagnostic study, you can of course get with your referring physician.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The American Cancer Society provides a wealth of information on breast cancer\u2014 from how to know if you&#8217;re at risk to a detailed explanation of screening methods; <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cancer.org\/cancer\/types\/breast-cancer\/screening-tests-and-early-detection\/american-cancer-society-recommendations-for-the-early-detection-of-breast-cancer.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">you can find helpful info here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>    Mark your calendars!<\/p>\n<p>On October 24, Clara Benitez-Cortez and Stefanie Lauber will be at Bayfront Park for the <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kristv.com\/community\/making-strides-against-breast-cancer\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">American Cancer Society&#8217;s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk<\/a>. KRIS 6 is proud to support the American Cancer Society&#8217;s annual walk, which brings together communities, businesses, and neighbors in the fight to end breast cancer.<\/p>\n<p>This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.<\/p>\n<p>For the latest local news updates, <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kristv.com\/news\/local-news\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">click here<\/a>, or download the <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kristv.com\/about-us\/kris-6-apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">KRIS 6 News App. <\/a><br \/>Catch all the <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/KRIS6News\/videos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">KRIS 6 News stories and more on our YouTube page<\/a>. Subscribe today!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas \u2014 If you&#8217;ve ever had to rewind a VHS tape or burn a CD for&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":468736,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[155,157,156],"class_list":["post-468735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi-headlines","tag-corpus-christi-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=468735"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468735\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/468736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=468735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=468735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=468735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}