An apparatus and method of examining the breast of a woman who has difficulty in standing or raising her arms by providing an X-ray machine having x-ray emitting and receiving members that are rotatable about a vertical axis and movable up and down along the vertical axis. A cup member having an interior configured to receive one of the woman's breast is placed over a breast and suction from a source of suction is applied to the interior of the cup member to expand the breast to fill the cup. The X-ray emitting and receiving members of the X-ray machine are then oriented relative to the cup member to perform an examination of the breast inside the cup member while the woman is either in a sitting or standing position.