{"site":"https://mammo.express","name":"Mammo Express","description":"Self-scheduled screening mammography. Scheduling service, not a medical provider.","updated":"2026-09-11T17:57:52.350Z","disclaimer":"Not a medical provider. Does not give medical advice, perform imaging or interpret results.","answers":[{"url":"https://mammo.express/answers/mammogram-without-a-doctor-referral","question":"Can you get a mammogram without a doctor’s referral?","summary":"In most of the US, yes — federal law allows self-referral for a screening mammogram. A few states add their own requirement. Here is exactly how it works.","sections":[{"heading":"The federal rule","text":"The Mammography Quality Standards Act governs every mammography facility in the United States. Under it, an FDA-certified facility may screen a person who does not have a referring clinician. The facility then has to send the results directly to you, in language you can understand. Self-referral is expected and accounted for in the regulation."},{"heading":"Where states differ","text":"A state can impose more than the federal floor. New York requires a written order even for a screening exam, and a radiologist at the facility can write it. That is why a blanket claim of \"no referral needed anywhere\" is wrong — the honest answer is that it depends on where you go, and the location should tell you before you travel."},{"heading":"Screening versus diagnostic","text":"Self-referral covers screening: no symptoms, routine interval. If you have found a lump, or have pain, discharge or a skin change, you need a diagnostic mammogram, and that does require a clinician’s order. Please do not book a screening exam to investigate a symptom — see a clinician."},{"heading":"What it saves you","text":"The office visit purely to obtain a referral costs you a copay, time off work, and typically weeks of delay. Removing that step is the entire point. The mammogram itself is usually covered with no cost sharing by most plans and by Medicare."}]},{"url":"https://mammo.express/answers/how-to-prepare-for-a-mammogram","question":"How to prepare for a mammogram","summary":"No deodorant, time it after your period, wear two pieces, bring your prior images. Practical preparation drawn from CDC, FDA and NCI guidance.","sections":[{"heading":"The night before","text":"Find out whether you have had a mammogram elsewhere, and if so, ring that facility and ask them to send your prior images. Comparison against last year is one of the most valuable things the radiologist has."},{"heading":"The morning of","text":"No deodorant, perfume or powder — the metallic particles in antiperspirant can appear as white specks on the image and can mean a repeat. Put it in your bag and apply it afterwards. Wear a top and trousers rather than a dress."},{"heading":"At the appointment","text":"Tell the technologist about implants, breastfeeding, possible pregnancy, previous surgery, or any lump or change you have noticed. The exam takes a few minutes; the whole visit is usually about twenty."},{"heading":"Afterwards","text":"You will get a results letter in plain language, and since September 2024 it must include whether your breasts are dense. Dense tissue is common and is not a diagnosis — but it does make mammograms harder to read, so it is worth discussing."}]},{"url":"https://mammo.express/answers/how-often-should-you-get-a-mammogram","question":"How often should you get a mammogram?","summary":"USPSTF says every two years from 40. The American Cancer Society says yearly from 45. Both are credible — here is the difference and what it means for you.","sections":[{"heading":"What the USPSTF says","text":"In 2024 the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended screening mammography every two years for women aged 40 to 74. It lowered the starting age to 40, citing rising incidence among women in their forties and higher mortality among Black women. It favours a two-year interval because it produces fewer false positives for a similar mortality benefit."},{"heading":"What the American Cancer Society says","text":"The ACS recommends the option of yearly screening from 40, yearly screening from 45 to 54, and from 55 either continuing yearly or moving to every two years. It weights the earlier detection of yearly screening more heavily."},{"heading":"Why the difference matters","text":"Insurance coverage tends to follow the USPSTF, because the Affordable Care Act ties no-cost-sharing preventive coverage to its recommendations. That does not make the ACS wrong; it means if you want yearly screening you should check how your plan treats it."},{"heading":"When your schedule is different","text":"Family history, a known BRCA or other gene variant, prior chest radiation, or dense breasts can all change what is right for you — sometimes earlier, sometimes more often, sometimes with additional imaging. That is a conversation with a clinician, not a website."}]},{"url":"https://mammo.express/answers/walk-in-mammogram-near-me","question":"Walk-in and express mammogram appointments","summary":"Find a screening location, pick a time on their calendar, and go. No referral appointment first, no waiting weeks for a slot.","sections":[{"heading":"How express scheduling works","text":"You choose a location from the map, you are handed to that location’s own booking calendar, and you pick a time that suits you. Nothing sits in a queue waiting for paperwork."},{"heading":"What to bring","text":"Photo ID, your insurance card if you have one, and the name of the facility where you had your last mammogram so images can be compared. Skip deodorant that morning."},{"heading":"If a location needs an order","text":"Some states require a written order even for screening. Where that is the case, the location is marked so you know before you go, and the facility’s own radiologist can often write it."}]},{"url":"https://mammo.express/answers/mammogram-cost-and-insurance","question":"What does a screening mammogram cost?","summary":"Most plans and Medicare cover screening mammography with no copay. Booking yourself also removes the referral visit copay.","sections":[{"heading":"The exam","text":"Under the Affordable Care Act, most private plans and Medicare cover screening mammography with no copay, no deductible and no coinsurance at an in-network facility. Coverage rules follow the USPSTF recommendation, so an interval outside that may be treated differently by your plan."},{"heading":"The visit you no longer need","text":"Seeing a clinician purely to obtain a referral is itself a billable office visit with its own copay. Self-referral removes it."},{"heading":"Diagnostic follow-up is different","text":"If a screening mammogram finds something that needs another look, the follow-up diagnostic imaging is usually NOT covered at 100% in the way screening is. It is worth knowing that before you are surprised by a bill."},{"heading":"Paying cash","text":"If you are uninsured, ask the location directly for their self-pay price. Many publish it, and CDC-funded programmes provide free or low-cost screening for people who qualify."}]},{"url":"https://mammo.express/answers/dense-breasts-what-it-means","question":"You were told you have dense breasts. What now?","summary":"About half of women over 40 have dense breast tissue. Since September 2024 every US facility must tell you. Here is what it does and does not mean.","sections":[{"heading":"What density is","text":"Breasts are made of fatty tissue and fibroglandular tissue. Fibroglandular tissue appears white on a mammogram. So do many tumours. The more dense tissue you have, the more places a small cancer can hide."},{"heading":"It is common","text":"Roughly half of women over 40 in the United States have dense breasts. It is not a disease, not a diagnosis and not something you caused. It also tends to decrease with age."},{"heading":"It is a modest risk factor","text":"Dense tissue is associated with a somewhat higher risk of developing breast cancer, separately from making detection harder. Both facts are worth knowing; neither is cause for panic."},{"heading":"What to do about it","text":"Ask a clinician whether supplemental imaging — ultrasound or MRI — makes sense given your density and your other risk factors. And keep screening. A mammogram that is harder to read is still far better than no mammogram."}]}],"faq":[{"question":"Do I really not need a doctor’s order?","answer":"For a routine screening mammogram, usually not. Federal law under the Mammography Quality Standards Act allows FDA-certified facilities to screen you without a referring clinician — the facility simply sends your results directly to you. But some states add their own requirement: New York, for example, requires a written order even for screening. Each location on this site tells you which applies, and we will not send you somewhere expecting a walk-in if that location needs paperwork.","source":"https://www.fda.gov/radiation-emitting-products/mammography-information-patients/frequently-asked-questions-about-mqsa"},{"question":"What is the difference between a screening and a diagnostic mammogram?","answer":"A screening mammogram is for people with no symptoms — that is what you can book yourself here. A diagnostic mammogram is for when there is something specific to look at: a lump, pain, nipple discharge, a skin change, or a follow-up on a previous result. A diagnostic exam does need a clinician’s order. If you have noticed a change, please see a clinician rather than booking a screening.","source":"https://www.cancer.gov/types/breast/screening/mammograms"},{"question":"How often should I go?","answer":"It depends whose guidance you follow, and both are reasonable. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends every 2 years from age 40 to 74. The American Cancer Society recommends yearly from 45 to 54, with the option to start yearly at 40. If you have a family history, a known gene variant, dense breasts or prior chest radiation, your schedule may be different — that is a conversation with a clinician.","source":"https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/breast-cancer-screening"},{"question":"What does it cost?","answer":"Under the Affordable Care Act, most private plans and Medicare cover screening mammography with no copay, no deductible and no coinsurance when you use an in-network facility. Booking yourself also skips the office-visit copay you would pay just to get a referral. What we cannot do is promise your specific plan behaves that way — check with your insurer, and ask the location what they charge if you are paying cash.","source":null},{"question":"How long does the appointment take?","answer":"Usually about twenty minutes in total, with the imaging itself taking only a few minutes. That is why we call it express — the appointment was never the slow part. The waiting and the referral were.","source":"https://www.cdc.gov/breast-cancer/about/mammograms.html"},{"question":"Does it hurt?","answer":"Your breast is compressed firmly for a few seconds per image. Most people describe it as uncomfortable rather than painful, and a minority do find it painful. Booking the week after your period, and telling the technologist if you are struggling, both help. It is brief.","source":"https://www.cdc.gov/breast-cancer/about/mammograms.html"},{"question":"What is breast density and why am I being told about it?","answer":"Dense breast tissue looks white on a mammogram — and so do many cancers, which makes them harder to spot. Roughly half of women over 40 have dense breasts, and density is itself a modest risk factor. Since September 2024 the FDA requires every US facility to tell you your density in your results letter. If yours is dense, ask a clinician whether additional imaging makes sense for you.","source":"https://www.fda.gov/consumers/womens-health-topics/understanding-breast-density"},{"question":"Who gets my results?","answer":"The facility sends them to you directly, in plain language, and that is a federal requirement. If you give them the name of a clinician, they will send a copy there too. Mammo Express does not receive, store or have access to your images or your results — we schedule, we do not read.","source":"https://www.fda.gov/radiation-emitting-products/mammography-information-patients/frequently-asked-questions-about-mqsa"},{"question":"Is Mammo Express a medical provider?","answer":"No. We are a scheduling front door. The imaging is performed by an independent, FDA-certified facility that you choose, and your relationship for the exam itself is with them. We do not provide medical care, we do not give medical advice, and we do not interpret results.","source":null},{"question":"I am a man, or I am transgender or nonbinary. Does this apply to me?","answer":"Possibly. Breast cancer is far less common in men but it happens, and screening needs for transgender and nonbinary people depend on hormone use and surgical history. Anyone with breast tissue can be screened. The guidance above is written around the populations it was studied in — if you are outside that, a clinician can tell you what fits.","source":null},{"question":"What happens after I book?","answer":"You pick a location and we hand you to that location’s own calendar to choose your time. We keep a note of where you went so we can remind you when you are due again — by default a year later, which you can change or switch off. We will never text you without your explicit consent.","source":null},{"question":"How do I stop the reminders?","answer":"Reply STOP to any text, click unsubscribe in any email, or turn reminders off in your account. It takes effect immediately.","source":null}]}