The test is important: schedule your mammogram today

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and a perfect time of year to have your screening mammogram, if you have not already done so. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Delaware women, and regular screening mammography is important for early detection, when the disease is most treatable. Mammography is still the best test for breast cancer detection, and regular mammography results in an overall 40 percent reduction in breast cancer mortality.

While there has been controversy about the frequency of mammography, the American College of Radiology and therefore the radiologists at Beebe Healthcare recommend yearly mammography beginning at age 40 and each year thereafter while a woman is in good health.

Beebe offers both traditional 2D and 3D mammography. Breast tomosynthesis or 3D digital mammography is the latest advance in digital mammography. The advantages over traditional mammography (also known as 2D mammography) include better cancer detection at an earlier stage and fewer return visits for additional images, and therefore less anxiety and greater convenience for women undergoing mammography.

Beebe Healthcare introduced the first 3D mammography for breast cancer screening to Sussex County in 2014; since that time more than 25,000 women have had a 3D mammogram. Beebe now has 3D technology in three locations – Millville, Georgetown and Rehoboth Beach.

The use of 3D mammography has reduced the biopsy rate by 13.3 percent and the recall rate for additional images by 19.3 percent. Beebe has performed 3D imaging for women who had suspicious results on standard 2D imaging at other centers. Following the 3D mammography, the women found their exams were normal, which alleviated their anxiety.

Both 3D mammography and 2D mammography are performed using the same machine. The machine first takes a traditional 2D image of the breast, which is like looking at a closed book where all the pages overlap. In order to create the 3D images, the machine arcs over the breast during a 4-second scan. A series of 1-millimeter-thick images or slices of the breast are generated (approximately 50 per position), much like looking at the pages of an open book. The radiologist looks at both the 2D mammogram and the 3D slices, which helps to separate the normal tissue that can look like cancer when it overlaps, or can hide cancer because it is the same density. Each set of 2D/3D images of the breast is taken in two positions for each breast for a total of four sets of images. Both 2D and 3D mammography deliver a low dose of radiation. The radiation dose for 2D mammography alone is equal to about seven weeks of naturally occurring background radiation and with the addition of 3D, this increases to 14 weeks of naturally occurring background radiation, which is still considered a low dose.

Beebe Healthcare's Breast Health Program is the only one in Delaware to be accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, administered by the American College of Surgeons. If a screening mammogram requires additional testing, a Breast Health Nurse Navigator is here to help. For more information, call  302-645-3630 or go to www.beebehealthcare.org/breast-health.

Who needs 3D?

While all women may benefit from 3D mammography (breast tomosynthesis), the greatest benefit is in women with dense breast tissue. Other women who may also benefit most, due to a higher risk of breast cancer, include those who have had breast cancer, and women with a strong family history of breast cancer, or known carriers of the BRCA breast cancer gene.

For more information on mammography services at Beebe, go to www.beebehealthcare.org/3-D-mammo. To schedule your mammogram today, call 302-645-3278. If you have questions about whether you qualify for a free screening through the Screening for Life program, call our Cancer Care Nurse Navigator at 302-645-3169.

New to the area? Need a physician, but you aren’t sure where to start? Beebe Women’s Health Nurse Navigator Carrie Snyder, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, is here to answer your questions. For more information, call 844-316-3330 or email womenshealth@beebehealthcare.org.

Ellen Bahtiarian, MD, is board certified in radiology and nuclear medicine. She is a member of Southern Delaware Imaging Associates, a group of radiologists who provide imaging interpretations for all of the Beebe Healthcare Imaging locations 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.