The field of medical science has come a long way in recent decades when it comes to the detection and diagnosis of breast cancer. Today, women are living longer than ever before with the disease and the cure rate has increased significantly over the years. The key to survival is early detection and to that end there are two tools that have proven to be extremely useful in the diagnosis of breast cancer. Mammograms and ultrasounds are both gold standards of measurement when it comes to the ability to diagnosis breast cancer. They each have their strengths and their weaknesses in what they are used for and when combined with self examinations they provide the most thorough screening method currently available.
             Before one can determine which method they prefer in the diagnosis of breast cancer it is important to understand how each method works. The ultrasound is a method by which a machine uses an imaging technique to locate tumors or other unusual events within the breast.
             It does this by bouncing harmless but high frequency sound waves that form an image.
             It bounces off and through various densities in the breast tissues which creates different images that can be seen on a screen to the naked eye(Ultrasound Breast Cancer http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/ency/breast_ultrasound.jsp).
             "Breast ultrasound may be used in several ways. The most common application is to investigate a specific area of the breast where a problem is suspected. A palpable lump and/or a lump or density discovered by x-ray imaging (mammogram) can be further evaluated by ultrasound. It is especially helpful in distinguishing between a fluid-filled cyst and a solid mass. It can also identify small lesions that are too tiny to be felt(Ultrasound Breast Cancer http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/ency/breast_ultrasound.jsp)."
             For women under the age of 35 ultrasound is usually the first study used to evaluate any masses or un
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