A New Perspective in Mammography: 3D Breast Tomosynthesis

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. To treat it you, must find it. If you find it early, you have a greater chance of an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment plan. Your very best defense is early detection and diagnosis, made possible through
an annual screening mammogram.

At Decatur County Memorial
Hospital, we commit ourselves every day to matching our compassionate care for women with state-of-the-art mammogram technology. That is why we now offer wide-angle 3D breast tomosynthesis. It is new mammogram technology that gives every woman her best chance for an early and accurate diagnosis.

The Game Changer in Mammography

The gold standard in breast cancer screening has been digital 2D mammography. These mammograms suffer from decreasing sensitivity in women with dense breasts or when breast tissue overlaps.

The result can be unclear images that leave doctors unsure of what they see, and can lead to cancers being missed.

• Up to 30% of cancers go undetected by standard mammography.

• 52-76% of cancers are missed in dense breast tissue, where tumors are more difficult to identify.

That changes with wide-angle breast tomosynthesis.

How it Works

The 3D mammogram is just like the 2D experience. The breast is compressed under a paddle as images are taken of the breast. The tube moves in a 50-degree arc around the breast, taking 25 images during the exam. Those images are sent to a computer and assembled into a three-dimensional picture of the breast.

Unlike 2D mammography, True Breast Tomosynthesis takes x-ray pictures of each breast from many angles that are not available in traditional mammography. The result is a clearer image that helps us look inside the breast layer by layer to find tumors better than standard 2D mammography alone, with fewer recalls.

Why Wide-angle Tomosynthesis?

Because we want our patients to be sure of their diagnosis. We love the wide-angle imaging and clarity it offers our physicians. More importantly, we think it can save lives because it leaves breast cancer with no place to hide.

Mindy Busemeyer, Director of Radiology, is excited to have this new addition in her department. She commented, “DCMH continues to strive to provide state of the art care and equipment to its community. 3D Breast Tomosynthesis is just another way we are meeting our community needs for breast health and early cancer detection. Both our technologists and radiologists have had additional training in 3D tomosynthesis and look forward to providing this next level of care to its patients.”

To learn more about 3D tomosynthesis, visit www.dcmh.net/3d-mammography.