Bayhealth debuts advanced breast screening

Bayhealth is committed to staying on the leading edge of breast cancer care and is the first in Delaware to offer the Invenia Automated Breast Ultrasound.

The Food and Drug Administration-approved ultrasound technology is used as an addition to mammography to screen for breast cancer in women with dense breast tissue.

The ABUS technology is available by clinician referral only at Bayhealth Women’s Imaging Centers in Milford and Dover. The 3D ultrasound of the entire breast provides high-resolution images, and the 3D formats make it fast and easy for radiologists to read the images and identify anything suspicious that needs more attention.

“We are excited to add the ABUS to our comprehensive breast cancer screening program. By offering ABUS in addition to mammography for our patients with dense breast tissue, we anticipate improving detection for small cancers that cannot be seen on a mammogram alone in these women,” said Daniel Wood, MD, lead interpreting breast radiologist. “We believe ABUS will become an integral part of our practice for the detection of breast cancer.”

According to multiple large studies, dense breast tissue not only increases the risk of breast cancer but also makes cancer more difficult to detect using mammography alone. As a result, the FDA now mandates that women be notified after a mammogram if their breasts are dense and be given additional options for screening if available.

“Mammography is an effective tool for the detection of breast cancer; however, it doesn’t work equally well in all women, particularly those with dense breast tissue,” said Wood. “Designed and built specifically for screening, research shows that ABUS technology as an adjunct to mammography has the potential to find 35.7% additional cancers that would not have been found with mammography alone.”

Wood recommends that women get regular mammograms as suggested by their doctor, and if they have been informed that they have dense breast tissue, they should talk to their doctor about their specific risk and additional screening tests that might be appropriate, like the ABUS test.

The Bayhealth Cancer Institute offers free clinical breast exams and screening mammograms for community members who are underinsured or uninsured. To learn more, call 302-744-6512 and go to Bayhealth.org/Breast-Cancer.