MODEL RELEASED. Breast examination.Radiologist positioning a womanandamp;apos;s breast beforetaking an X- ray of the breast (mammogram). Thebreast is compressed between an upper plasticcover and a metal X-ray plate (not seen). Thisspreads out the breast tissue, resulting in aclear X-ray of the area. Usually, two X-rays aretaken of each breast. The X-rays are examined fortumourous growths. If a tumour is picked up on anX-ray, a biopsy (tissue sample) can confirmwhether it is cancerous. This type of screeningcan detect tumours at an early stage, when theyare more easily treatable.