40% of women who undergo a diagnostic mammogram screening are diagnosed as having dense breasts. Although density of breasts is not an ailment in itself, it makes it difficult to diagnose breast cancer. This is because dense tissues in the breast appear like cancerous tissues and this is the reason that in such cased apart from mammography, other screening tests also have to be done.
Tomosynthesis is usually the first screening test done to detect breast cancer with women and is also known as tomo. This is again a non invasive test and in this low dose X-rays of the breasts are taken to study the structure of the breast tissue. Any anomalies in the breast tissue structure become evident in the images produces by tomo and can be analyzed by an expert radiologist. These anomalies can be labeled as cancerous or non cancerous due to their properties. However, if a woman has dense breast tissue then it becomes difficult to differentiate between normal tissue and cancerous one. This is the reason that additional screening tests like MRI and ultrasound have to be done.
One of the screening tests done in combination with mammography is Magnetic resonance imaging. Breast MRI is also used with a contrast agent in order to study the structure of the breast tissues and the blood flow. This is because cancerous tissues have abnormal or increased blood flow. The contrast agent is injected intravenously into the patient before the imaging is done. This is a non invasive technique and takes about 30-40 minutes. However, it is not advisable for women who are pregnant or have had a metallic implant like a pacemaker. At the same time, some women are averse to the contrasting agent and it can also create problems for women with kidney diseases. Some women find the closed tube like structure of the MRI machine to be very claustrophobic. In spite of this, MRI significantly increases the chances of detecting breast cancer in women when combined with mammography especially in cases of high breast density.
Every woman should beware of breast cancer because it can occur despite a regular and healthy lifestyle. Of course there are certain risk factors which increase the occurrence of breast cancer, but even women who do not have any of these factors are known to get cancer. In case a woman has any of the risk factors, then it becomes even more important to get regular breast screenings done.
Tomosynthesis is usually the first screening test done to detect breast cancer with women and is also known as tomo. This is again a non invasive test and in this low dose X-rays of the breasts are taken to study the structure of the breast tissue. Any anomalies in the breast tissue structure become evident in the images produces by tomo and can be analyzed by an expert radiologist. These anomalies can be labeled as cancerous or non cancerous due to their properties. However, if a woman has dense breast tissue then it becomes difficult to differentiate between normal tissue and cancerous one. This is the reason that additional screening tests like MRI and ultrasound have to be done.
One of the screening tests done in combination with mammography is Magnetic resonance imaging. Breast MRI is also used with a contrast agent in order to study the structure of the breast tissues and the blood flow. This is because cancerous tissues have abnormal or increased blood flow. The contrast agent is injected intravenously into the patient before the imaging is done. This is a non invasive technique and takes about 30-40 minutes. However, it is not advisable for women who are pregnant or have had a metallic implant like a pacemaker. At the same time, some women are averse to the contrasting agent and it can also create problems for women with kidney diseases. Some women find the closed tube like structure of the MRI machine to be very claustrophobic. In spite of this, MRI significantly increases the chances of detecting breast cancer in women when combined with mammography especially in cases of high breast density.
Every woman should beware of breast cancer because it can occur despite a regular and healthy lifestyle. Of course there are certain risk factors which increase the occurrence of breast cancer, but even women who do not have any of these factors are known to get cancer. In case a woman has any of the risk factors, then it becomes even more important to get regular breast screenings done.