Cascade Radiology » Breast Cancer Screening http://www.cascaderadiology.com/blog Excellence in Healthcare, Imaging and Service Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:48:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Digital Mammography with CAD…just like Mom http://www.cascaderadiology.com/blog/2009/03/digital-mammography-with-cad%e2%80%a6just-like-mom/ http://www.cascaderadiology.com/blog/2009/03/digital-mammography-with-cad%e2%80%a6just-like-mom/#comments Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:37:14 +0000 admin http://www.cascaderadiology.com/blog/?p=10 I hope everyone has heard about Digital mammography.  Digital mammography is a new way for doctors to check for breast cancer.  This type of mammogram produces clearer pictures and the clearer pictures contain more information for the radiologist to see.  The exam is much faster than a typical exam because there is no film involved. You are done in most cases in 15 minutes! Can you imagine? Finally, not only is there a better diagnosis but it doesn’t take an hour either. As a radiologist I know it can be frustrating to sit in a cold stark office waiting to get an exam that you been dreading all year long. Digital mammography speeds things up but more importantly it does not compromise the diagnosis.

Also the use of CAD or computer aided detection can be used with digital mammography. CAD is a software program that helps the doctor focus on areas that the computer indicates abnormalities in the breast tissue. CAD is like having your mom with you all the time. Look out for this….look out for that. And as we all know, as much as we hate to admit it mom is usually right when it comes to spotting things we might have overlooked.

]]> http://www.cascaderadiology.com/blog/2009/03/digital-mammography-with-cad%e2%80%a6just-like-mom/feed/ 0 Early Detection is STILL the Best Detection! http://www.cascaderadiology.com/blog/2009/03/early-detection-is-still-the-best-detection/ http://www.cascaderadiology.com/blog/2009/03/early-detection-is-still-the-best-detection/#comments Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:07:30 +0000 admin http://www.cascaderadiology.com/blog/?p=3 It is likely that you have heard the phrase that has been publicized throughout the U.S., “Early Detection is the Best Detection.” It makes sense. Research studies have been performed to prove that this one little sentence stands true. Breast cancer is still a leading cause of death in the U.S. even though our technology and resources have increased tenfold over the years. It is up to you to be screened.

The recommended age for women to start receiving annual mammograms is the age of 40. Of course if a woman has a very strong history of breast cancer earlier screening may be recommended. At each yearly mammogram screening the radiologist reads the present films with prior films for comparison. Having that yearly mammogram screening allows the radiologist to see any changes within that one year time period. If a mammogram screening is performed in longer time increments, such as every other year, the ability for abnormalities to grow for longer periods is much greater.

The article, Annual Breast Screening More Effective than Biennial, explains that women with a family history of the disease who were offered annual mammogram screening were more likely to be diagnosed with a tumor of smaller size. On the other hand women with family history receiving mammogram screenings every other year are more likely to have a larger abnormal tumor. Abnormalities such as cancerous cells can grow very quickly.  The smaller an abnormality or a tumor the better it is for removal and survival. Like we all know, Early Detection is the Best Detection.

A yearly screening only takes minutes out of one day, once a year. Don’t you think that it is worth it to have a mammogram?

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