Early Detection is Your Best Protection

The key to successfully treating breast cancer is to find it early.

Through state-of-the-art equipment and highly skilled staff, Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network has made the largest commitment to prevention and early detection of breast cancer in the Lehigh Valley.

Disorders of the breast are fairly common.
In fact, most women experience some type of breast problem during their lifetime. If you find a lump or change in your breasts, don’t panic. More than 80 percent of breast disorders are not cancerous.

A woman’s chance of developing breast cancer increases greatly as she becomes older. Since breast cancer can occur without any warning signs, it is important to take a proactive approach to screening and education.

An effective breast screening program has three components: clinical examination, mammography and self-examination. While each element is important, the combination of all three is strongest in identifying most cancers at their earliest, most treatable stages.

The American Cancer Society recommends the following guidelines for detecting breast cancer:

• Women under age 40 should perform monthly breast self-examinations and have a breast examination by a health care professional every three years;

• Women age 40 and over should perform monthly self-exams, have a breast exam by a health care professional every year and have a mammogram every year.

These recommendations are intended for women who do not have a history of breast cancer or breast symptoms. If you have a family or personal history, experience breast pain or feel a lump, please talk to your doctor.

Mammography
Mammography is the best way to find breast cancer early, when it is most treatable. Through an X-ray examination of the breast using extremely low radiation, mammography can detect lumps and other important changes several years before they can be felt.

Our mammography centers use state-of-the-art equipment operated by highly trained and certified technologists. Our centers are accredited by both the Food and Drug Administration and the American College of Radiology.

We also utilize the latest technology, the R2 ImageChecker, to further ensure accuracy. Taking advantage of digital technology and applied “artificial intelligence,” the R2 ImageChecker acts like a computer “spell check” for mammography. Images are read by the radiologist in the traditional manner. In addition, the images are scanned by the computer and any patterns that may be suspicious are flagged for closer evaluation. Research shows the ImageChecker helps to detect more early stage cancers. We were the first breast facility in the region to use this exciting technology.

Equally important as the equipment are the physicians reading the mammograms.

Our board-certified radiologists are experts at reading mammograms. They each read more than 1,000 mammograms each year, well above the FDA requirement of 480. Breast Health Services performs more than 40,000 mammograms and patient visits each year.

Our experienced staff and state-of-the-art technology have resulted in detection rates that are among the best in the country. Our rate for detecting cancer when it exists is 95 percent, compared with the national standard of 85 percent. Eighty percent of cancers are detected at the earliest possible stage, compared with 50 percent nationally, and more than 50 percent are found at less than one centimeter, as compared with 30 percent nationally.

Your chances of surviving breast cancer are greatly improved when it’s detected early through a program like ours. Mammography is simple, quick and painless, although there may be slight discomfort due to compression of the breast. We even offer a new technology to reduce this discomfort. The new Woman’s Touch MammoPad uses a soft, foam cushion to reduce the discomfort many women feel, without any effect on image quality. Now there’s no reason to put off a procedure that could save your life.

If you have had a mammogram elsewhere within the past five years, please arrange to bring your X-rays with you to use for comparison. This is very important and can help avoid delays in results.

Breast Self-Examination
Monthly breast self-examination (BSE) is part of a woman’s defense against breast cancer. Many breast cancers are first discovered by a woman herself. One out of every three women will discover a lump in her breast, but more than 80 percent of breast lumps are not cancerous.

When you visit Breast Health Services for a mammogram you will be given the opportunity to receive a breast assessment and instruction in BSE for no additional fee. With one-on-one guidance from a registered nurse certified to teach BSE, you can learn to perform BSE every month.

Other Diagnostic Services
In addition to mammography and BSE, Breast Health Services offers other diagnostic capabilities.

Ultrasound uses sound waves to identify normal breast tissue, fluid-filled masses or solid masses without using radiation.

Stereotactic breast biopsy uses a special table and computerized digital imaging to localize breast abnormalities for biopsy.

These procedures provide a less invasive, more comfortable way to obtain tissue samples and evaluate breast abnormalities, replacing open surgical biopsies in some cases.

ARTICLE TOOLS: