3-D mammograms
t. Luke's Miners Hospital held its annual breast cancer awareness tea recently at Macaluso's in Nesquehoning, and concentrated this year's theme on 3-D mammography technology available today.
Attendees of the event were given pink freebies, such as a hand towel and umbrella, as well as samples of the aromatherapy scents available for mammography exams performed at St. Luke's.Dr. Joseph P. Russo, a board certified radiologist with a fellowship in breast imaging, who joined St. Luke's University Health Network in 2004, has served as a section chief for mammography since 2005.Russo emphasized the importance of knowing if you have dense breasts, because having dense breasts makes a woman higher risk for developing cancer than having a family history of breast cancer.Russo said a law passed a couple of years ago called the Breast Density Notification Act requires hospitals to notify patients if they have dense breast tissue.Higher breast tissue density makes it more difficult to find cancer cells.Russo said that 48 percent of conventional 2-D mammograms are inaccurate in finding cancer cells. The 2-D mammography is being debated in the media, but Russo said that this is not the time to stop screening for cancer."Women should just take advantage of the new technology," Russo said.Russo said, "In radiology we've benefited greatly from cross-sectional imaging, so a CT scan, you know, it slices through your body, and we are able to see slice, slice, slice."Traditional mammography has always been two-dimensional imaging."With all the dense breast tissue superimposed on top of each other, it gets very difficult to see through that dense tissue," Russo said."3-D mammography gives us the ability to look at the breast and slice it, so a tiny breast cancer that might be hidden in a two-dimensional image becomes pretty obvious as you go in through a single slice of breast," he said."So if we find four or five cancers per 1,000 patients with a 2-D mammogram, we find seven or eight with 3-D mammography, so it increases your (cancer detection) by 50 percent."Russo said the current 3-D mammogram machines used at St. Luke's are of the same radiation dosage as a 2-D machine, so there was a clinical consideration to acquire the 3-D GE machines given the more accurate readings. Prior 3-D machines and other manufacturers' equipment were giving double the radiation dose of traditional mammograms.With the new technology, Russo said St. Luke's has been able to reduce the number of biopsies required to rule out doubtful results.3-D mammography is still a compression study, but as opposed to the 2-D technology it is not as uncomfortable, and patients can select the ambience and scents they prefer, adding music and relaxing aromatherapy for a more pleasant health screening medical experience.During the question and answer section someone asked if the 3-D mammograms are usually covered by insurance.Russo explained that the state recently passed a law that considers any mammogram a mammogram in Pennsylvania, and therefore 3-D mammograms should be covered.However, some insurers are out of state and might not be subject to the mandate, so each person should check with their own insurance coverage.Barb Porambo, a registered mammogram technician for 32 years at St. Luke's Miners, encouraged the women present to "embrace the technology. We embrace technology in so many ways … why not for your own health?""Even if you have to pay out of pocket, don't let it discourage you from getting the exam. You are certainly worth it."She praised the radiology department at St. Luke's Miners as a "gem" because 3-D mammograms are offered for anyone who comes to them for screening in this area.The event served the purpose of empowering women with choices and the latest information in mammogram technology, and to educate them in St. Luke's mission to treat every patient with the utmost care, and further individualized treatment for patients with various backgrounds and risk factors in the fight against cancer.Sharon Oravec, manager of infusion and part of the event planning team, said the event was made possible by charitable donations for up to 50 women in the area who wanted to attend.For more information Dr. Russo encouraged attendees to visit