Regular Screening
- All screening tests have false positive results and false
negative results, meaning that you could have a
cancer that is missed, or a benign lump could be
misdiagnosed as a cancer..
- Breast self-exam (BSE) is an important part of
screening for breast lumps. Studies have shown that
self-exams do not reduce breast cancer death rates,
but at least 40% of breast cancers are identified by
women doing self-exams. A recent spate of
inaccurate media reporting about BSE has been in the
news.
- Mammograms have about a 90% accuracy. If you
have a breast lump that persists despite a normal
mammogram, further studies, often including a
biopsy, should be done. Baseline mammograms
should be obtained between 35 and 40, then every 1-
2 years until 50, then every year. If you have a
mother or sister with breast cancer, begin annual
mammograms 10 years before their diagnosis was
made.
- Digital mammograms represent a new technology
that may be helpful in identifying breast cancers in
younger women with dense breasts. Computer Aided
Detection is being used more frequently in an attempt
to improve the accuracy of mammograms.
- MRI or magnetic resonance imagery is a sensitive
tool but is extremely expensive and has a high
number of false positives. MRIs in conjunction with
mammograms are recommended only for women at
the highest risk, meaning with a genetic mutation or a
strong family history of breast or ovarian cancer.
- Ultrasound is used to determine whether a lump is a
cyst (sac containing fluid) or a solid mass. If it is
found to be a cyst, fluid may be withdrawn from it
using a needle and syringe (a process called
aspiration). If clear fluid is removed and the mass
completely disappears, no further treatment or
evaluation is needed. Ultrasound can also be used to
locate the position of a lump to guide a biopsy or
aspiration.Ultrasound helps confirm correct needle
placement. By itself, current ultrasound technology
does not replace mammograms in the detection of
breast cancer.
- Breast-specific gamma camera is sometimes
recommended in case of newly diagnosed breast
cancer, indeterminate breast cancer, very dense
breasts, in women at high risk or in women in whom
the previous cancer was missed by mammography.
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