Mammograms can be life-saving. They can also be prohibitively painful to some women. Here are six tips to make your mammogram hurt less.

1. Have your mammogram when you don't have much breast engorgement. (For most women, this means the two weeks after menstruation has finished but the time varies with the individual.)

2. Using as little salt as possible for a week before the test.

3.Taking 400 international units of vitamin E for 3 weeks before the test.

4. Using simple analgesics like paracetamol, aspirin, diclofenac one hour before the test.

5. Drink green juice, made from green apples, capsicums, celery, bitter melons and cucumbers on alternate days for a week before the test.

6. Tell the radiographer when you feel pain during the test. The radiographer does have some lee-way to adjust the degree of compression of the breasts against the x-ray plates.

Please feel free to share with me other tips that have worked for you in the comments box below.