According to the U.S. Breast Cancer Statistics, 1 in 8 women will develop invasive breast cancer. It may sound like a large percentage of women are at risk but the statistics also reported that the death rates have continued to heavily decrease since 1989. The survival rate has improved drastically because of the raised awareness in recent years, advancement in treatment and most importantly – early detection through proper screenings.
Breast cancer can occur for various reasons and although genetics may increase the chances, most patients develop breast cancer as a result of the natural aging process. Early detection has proven to be the most important step to survival. That is why scheduling regular mammograms should become part of a woman’s health routine. The mammography procedure is an exam administered to evaluate the breast and any changes within the tissue. In most cases these exams can detect a lump before the patient is aware of it.
You don’t always have to visit a hospital or a physician’s office for a mammogram. Any board certified radiology center with imaging procedures like MRI and ultrasound can accommodate you. In order to provide you with accurate results, certified radiologists are not only trained to utilize all the new FDA approved technologies but also understand how to properly analyze the images produced to provide accurate diagnosis.
The images are typically kept on record to give radiologists a point of comparison. Any abnormal changes in the breast tissue will be easier to observe, which will assist the early detection process. For patients who have already been diagnosed with breast cancer, radiology centers schedule more frequent exams in order to gather more records of past images. These images are analyzed closely to observe any differences in cancer advancement or retrogression. Accredited radiologists don’t just deliver a report, they establish a stronger communication system between doctors and their patients in efforts to reach a cure.