How Digital Mammography Is Improving Breast Screening

Detecting breast cancer as early as possible is essential to breast care and to ensure that survival isn't a matter of luck but a matter of science. The best way to detect breast cancer is with a mammography and digital mammography is the most accurate method available today. The main reason for this is because computers aid in the diagnostic phase and are able to detect cancers much sooner than other methods and years before they can be felt as a lump.

The general rule of thumb is that you should have mammograms each year once you turn 40. They also state that a baseline mammogram should be taken when you're around thirty-five as this will be the one all other mammograms are compared to. Having all mammograms digital will make for the most accurate baseline as well as comparisons as well. Even though these guidelines have been suggested for years, you have to do things differently if you're in a high-risk category.

If there is a history of breast cancer in your family, especially if someone in your immediate family such as your mother, grandmother or sister has had breast cancer this places you in a high risk group. If you don't know your family history, for instance if you lost your mother at a young age, the best way is to assume you're in a high-risk group which changes the guidelines significantly. Instead of having a baseline digital mammogram when you're thirty-five, have one when you're thirty instead. To be on the safe side, you'll want to start having your yearly mammograms when you reach 35 as those in the high-risk category have higher chances of developing breast cancer much younger as well.

An added suggestion for those in high risk groups is to have a mammogram done twice a year after age forty as well. With digital mammography and a good baseline to compare with, any changes noticed by the technologist can be examined sooner and a core biopsy with a breast MRI can be done immediately to see if the change is benign or malignant. Catching things early enables doctors to cut out the problem area without having to resort to more drastic measures such as a mastectomy.

Since there is currently no way to vaccinate against breast cancer, detecting it early is the best way to survive it. Take every precaution possible such as doing self-exams regularly, getting breast cancer screening exams and having digital mammograms done to ensure that if you do develop breast cancer, it's caught early.

Breast care is extremely important for woman of any age but many simply don't think about how exams can literally save their lives. The Porter Breast & Mammogram Center at Porter Adventist Hospital is leading the way in breast cancer screening and treatment.

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The Controversy Over Screening Mammogram

The mortality rate from breast malignancy in the United States has decreased by 31% between 1990 and 2007. Most of this success is attributed to screening mammogram. Improved medical treatments have helped to a lesser degree. As expected, the key to long survival after cancer diagnosis is to discover it early and then to eradicate it with surgical excision. Once the cancer has spread, no amount of drugs can cure it. In the case of breast cancer, the key to early detection is screening mammogram (and physical exam).

The evidence for screening mammogram comes from several large studies from many European countries as well as the United States. The largest randomized controlled trial was conducted in Sweden. This result was recently published by author László Tabár and colleagues (Swedish Two-County Trial: Impact of Mammographic Screening on Breast Cancer Mortality during 3 Decades, in the journal Radiology, volume 260, pages 658-663, September 2011). A total of 133,065 women aged 40-74 years were randomly assigned into a group invited to mammographic screening and a control group receiving the usual care. After 29 years of follow-up, the study shows a 31% reduction in breast cancer mortality in women invited to screening. The authors calculate that screening 300 women for 10 years prevents one death from breast tumor. Many experts think that the benefit of screening mammography is even greater in women who actually undergo testing compared to those women who do not. This is because in the large population studies like the Swedish report above, some women invited to screen did not have mammogram. On the other hand, women not invited also had mammogram, but to a lesser degree.

Yes, it is true that sometimes screening mammogram can pick up some findings, which lead to biopsies, that turn out to be benign or just pre-cancer. Yes, this would cause anxiety, discomfort, and would cost some healthcare money. Critics call this "over-diagnosis". This is because we have no perfect test that can tell will absolute 100% accuracy in each person which mammogram finding is bad invasive cancer and which is not. Screening mammogram can also find tiny cancers, that then get treated with surgery, maybe even radiation and anti-estrogen pills or chemotherapy. Critics call this "over-treatment". This is because we have no perfect test that can tell will absolute 100% accuracy in each person which tiny cancer will kill without treatment, and which would be fine left alone. But the bottom line is that despite these imperfections, screening mammogram still significantly saves lives. The current recommendation still stands, and it is annual screening mammogram starting at age 40. Each woman needs to decide for herself whether she wants to have a test proven to reduce breast cancer mortality by 31%, over the inconvenience of "over-diagnosis" and the possible side effects of "over-treatment".

Dr. Mai Brooks is a surgical oncologist/general surgeon, with expertise in early detection and prevention of cancer. More at http://www.drbrooksmd.com/, http://thecancerexperience.wordpress.com/.

Original article