Mammography is a specialty, low-dose x-ray that examines breasts. It is used to help diagnose breast cancer and other breast diseases.
All Presbyterian hospitals, outpatient centers and Lake Norman Regional Medical Center locations perform the latest in digital mammography, replacing the old film process. Plus, MRA radiologists use a recent enhancement called computer-aided detection (CAD) that uses high technology to look for disease.
Digital mammography, or full-field digital mammography (FFDM), uses solid-state detectors that convert x-rays into electrical signals, similar to those found in digital cameras. The electrical signals are translated into images of the breast that can be seen on a computer screen or printed on special film similar to conventional mammograms. Digital mammography is helpful diagnosing disease in patients under age 50, women of any age with very dense breasts and pre- or peri-menopausal women.
Computer-aided detection (CAD) systems use the mammographic image and apply a software program that searches for abnormal areas of density need for further analysis, mass or calcification that may indicate the presence of cancer. The CAD system highlights these areas on the images, alerting the radiologist to the need for further analysis.
Screening or Diagnostic Mammogram – Which One to Use? Mammography is critical to early detection of breast cancers because it can show changes in the breast up to two years before a patient or physician can feel them. A screening mammogram is for a woman who is asymptomatic, meaning that neither she nor her physician have found any signs of breast abnormalities.
Current guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the American Cancer Society (ACS), the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American College of Radiology (ACR) recommend screening mammography every year for women, beginning at age 40. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) recommends that women who have had breast cancer and those who are at increased risk due to a genetic history of breast cancer should check with their physician to see if they should begin screening before age 40.
A diagnostic mammogram is ordered when a patient presents with abnormal clinical findings—either a breast lump or lumps—that have been found by the woman or her doctor. Diagnostic mammography may also be done following an abnormal screening mammography to better determine if there is a problem.
Mammography is a specialty, low-dose x-ray that examines breasts. It is used to help diagnose breast cancer and other breast diseases.
All Presbyterian hospitals, outpatient centers and Lake Norman Regional Medical Center locations perform the latest in digital mammography, replacing the old film process. Plus, MRA radiologists use a recent enhancement called computer-aided detection (CAD) that uses high technology to look for disease.
Digital mammography, or full-field digital mammography (FFDM), uses solid-state detectors that convert x-rays into electrical signals, similar to those found in digital cameras. The electrical signals are translated into images of the breast that can be seen on a computer screen or printed on special film similar to conventional mammograms. Digital mammography is helpful diagnosing disease in patients under age 50, women of any age with very dense breasts and pre- or peri-menopausal women.
Computer-aided detection (CAD) systems use the mammographic image and apply a software program that searches for abnormal areas of density need for further analysis, mass or calcification that may indicate the presence of cancer. The CAD system highlights these areas on the images, alerting the radiologist to the need for further analysis.
Screening or Diagnostic Mammogram – Which One to Use? Mammography is critical to early detection of breast cancers because it can show changes in the breast up to two years before a patient or physician can feel them. A screening mammogram is for a woman who is asymptomatic, meaning that neither she nor her physician have found any signs of breast abnormalities.
Current guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the American Cancer Society (ACS), the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American College of Radiology (ACR) recommend screening mammography every year for women, beginning at age 40. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) recommends that women who have had breast cancer and those who are at increased risk due to a genetic history of breast cancer should check with their physician to see if they should begin screening before age 40.
A diagnostic mammogram is ordered when a patient presents with abnormal clinical findings—either a breast lump or lumps—that have been found by the woman or her doctor. Diagnostic mammography may also be done following an abnormal screening mammography to better determine if there is a problem.