We know it can be challenging to fit your own health and wellness appointments into your busy schedule. After all, your days are already packed with work, family commitments and routine tasks. But annual screening mammograms save lives, and that’s why Charlotte Radiology makes it easy to get yours done.
Not all imaging facilities are created equal. Where you go for breast imaging matters because it can significantly impact the quality, comfort, and timeliness of your care. When choosing a breast imaging center, you should look for a provider that offers comprehensive screening and diagnostic care, subspecialized expertise, advanced technology, and convenient access. These factors, when combined, can make a significant difference in the quality of your care, the accuracy of your results, and the maintenance of your breast health over time.
Does it Really Matter Where I Get My Mammogram?
The short answer is yes. The quality of your imaging and the expertise of the person reading your mammogram are critical factors in maintaining your breast health. While many facilities offer breast imaging services, choosing a specialized breast imaging center like Charlotte Radiology ensures you receive high-quality, complete care from experts who focus specifically on breast health. Our board-certified radiologists are subspecialized in mammography and breast procedures.
When you choose a breast center, you are choosing confidence. You want a breast imaging provider that offers expertise and advanced technology for precise, reliable results to guide your care. Accuracy in imaging helps detect breast cancer in its earliest stages and reduces the number of patient callbacks for additional screening, false positive findings, and unnecessary biopsies.
Annual screening with a qualified provider can provide peace of mind and offer a clear path forward should a potential concern be detected. For these reasons, you need a provider that can offer more complete breast health services, from annual screening mammograms to advanced diagnostic imaging and procedures, all in one place.
The Role of the Technologist and Radiologist in Mammography
For breast imaging, your exam will be performed by a mammography technologist. These are medical personnel who are licensed radiologic technologists and have completed specific training in mammography. At Charlotte Radiology, the technologists are an all-female team dedicated to providing skilled and compassionate care. They guide patients through the exam, focusing on optimal positioning of each breast to capture high-quality images while minimizing any discomfort.
Once the images are taken, they are reviewed and interpreted by a radiologist. This is where subspecialization is so important. When choosing a mammography provider, you should look for board-certified radiologists who are subspecialized in breast imaging, which means they have completed a fellowship in this specific area. A subspecialized radiologist focuses their training and daily practice specifically on breast health and imaging. They are true experts in their field, capable of catching subtle differences and irregularities that a general radiologist might miss. This level of expertise allows for greater accuracy in identifying even the smallest changes in breast tissue.
3D Mammography and Advanced Technology: The Gold Standard for Breast Imaging
Technology in healthcare evolves rapidly, and you want a provider that stays at the forefront of these advancements. For breast imaging, 3D mammography, also known as digital breast tomosynthesis, is the gold standard for annual breast cancer screening and early detection.
Unlike traditional 2D mammography, 3D mammography creates multiple images, or “slices,” of the breast from different angles. This enables radiologists to view the tissue in layers, resulting in improved image quality and greater accuracy. Annual 3D mammography is clinically proven to detect breast cancer in its earliest stages — up to three years before a lump can be felt — and saves more lives.
At Charlotte Radiology, 3D mammography is fully integrated with advanced AI-powered technology for annual screening and diagnostic exams. This advanced technology provides additional information to help our breast imaging experts interpret your mammogram. Our board-certified, subspecialized radiologists read every image — incorporating AI input and comparing your current images to those from your prior mammograms — to deliver precise, personalized results. The radiologist will include their clinical findings, including breast density and any follow-up recommendations, in your report.
Charlotte Radiology provides this advanced technology as standard of care and at no additional cost to patients. Most insurances cover annual screening 100%.
Screening Mammography
Annual screening mammograms are an essential component of preventive care for women, starting at age 40. These screenings play a crucial role in detecting breast cancer at an early stage, which can significantly improve treatment outcomes. By prioritizing regular mammograms, women can take proactive steps toward their health and well-being.
When Do Women Start Mammograms?
Making your breast health a priority is a resolution every woman can make, but it is easy to let self-care slide to the bottom of the list. However, when it comes to breast health, remain vigilant.
Women should have a conversation with their doctor to determine the best time to start screening mammograms. Most women with an average risk of breast cancer should start annual screening mammograms at age 40. However, many women should start sooner if they have a family history of breast cancer or other risk factors.
Diagnostic Mammography
If you experience symptoms such as a lump, breast pain, or nipple discharge, or if an area of concern is found during a screening, you will need a diagnostic mammogram. A diagnostic mammogram is a more detailed exam in which technologists take additional images to provide a comprehensive view of the breast. 3D mammography is used in diagnostic imaging and can also be supplemented with breast ultrasound or breast MRI with or without needle biopsy when additional imaging or procedures are needed to better characterize a concern.
- Breast Ultrasound: When used with screening and diagnostic mammography, breast ultrasound is an imaging technology that helps physicians further evaluate a specific breast concern, like a lump. Breast ultrasound uses sound waves rather than radiation to scan the breast, providing additional information to characterize breast changes that may require further imaging or biopsy.
- Breast MRI: For women at higher risk, a breast MRI may be recommended. This highly advanced technology uses magnetic fields to produce detailed images of soft tissue. It is an essential tool for high-risk surveillance and can detect some cancers that mammograms might miss.
- Needle Biopsy: If an imaging finding requires confirmation, the facility should be equipped to perform a minimally invasive needle biopsy to retrieve a small tissue sample for analysis.
Complete Care for Your Breast Health — Including Supplemental Screening for Dense Breasts
Not only does comprehensive care mean having access to screening and diagnostic breast care, but it also includes options for supplemental imaging, particularly if you have dense breasts or other risk factors for breast cancer. These options do not replace 3D mammography, but instead, serve as supplemental screening that provides additional information about a woman’s breast health for improved cancer detection. For all women — including the nearly 50% of women who have dense breast tissue — consider a breast imaging center that offers:
- Screening Breast Ultrasound (SBU)/Automated Breast Ultrasound (ABUS): These exams use sound waves to scan the entire breast without compression or radiation and can help detect some breast cancers not visible on a mammogram, especially in dense breast tissue. Scan times are typically 20 minutes to survey both breasts. A patient may opt for SBU/ABUS by choice or physician recommendation and/or if she is a candidate for breast MRI/ABMRI but unable to have one for certain reasons, for example, claustrophobia, contrast reaction, or metal devices not allowable with MRI/ABMRI. A physician referral is required.
- Abbreviated Breast MRI (ABMRI): This is a shorter version of a breast MRI with a scan time of less than 10 minutes, the same diagnostic accuracy, and a reduced cost. When used in combination with 3D mammography, ABMRI is one of the most sensitive exams for detecting breast cancers early. ABMRI is an option for women who qualify, including those with dense breast tissue who may be at average or intermediate risk for developing breast cancer. A physician’s order is needed for this exam.
Having all these services in one place makes the earliest detection and diagnosis of breast cancer possible. Even though a breast imaging center may not perform surgeries like lumpectomies or mastectomies, they are instrumental in identifying and characterizing breast cancers and other abnormalities to help inform diagnosis and treatment. Imaging also helps doctors plan breast surgeries effectively. When breast cancer is found at an early stage — Stage 0 or Stage 1 — patients typically require less invasive treatments and have a better chance of survival. In fact, women diagnosed at these stages have a nearly 100% 5-year survival rate.
Additional Women’s Health Imaging
In addition to breast health imaging, Charlotte Radiology offers an array of other women’s health imaging services, including:
- DEXA bone density screening at select breast centers
- Vein care to help relieve discomfort caused by varicose and spider veins
- Diagnostic imaging needs, including MRI and CT scans
- Interventional radiology for procedures such as uterine fibroid embolization to treat fibroids
By choosing Charlotte Radiology for your women’s health needs, you’ll have a dedicated partner for all your imaging needs.
Charlotte Radiology: Making Women’s Health Convenient for YOU
Finally, the best provider is one that makes it easy for you to actually get your screening. Life is busy, so you need a breast imaging center that has convenient locations and hours that fit your schedule.
Access and Ease
We know that it can be challenging to fit your own health and well-care appointments into your busy schedule. But annual screening mammograms save more lives, and that’s why Charlotte Radiology makes it easy to get yours done. We offer many convenient locations throughout North and South Carolina, with evening and weekend appointments available at select locations. And when you come in for your annual screening appointment, in most cases you’ll be in and out in 20 minutes or less, getting you back to your busy day in no time.
Charlotte Radiology also offers an easy self-scheduling tool so you can make your annual screening, diagnostic, and/or DEXA appointment online in just a few minutes. And when you come in for your annual screening, you can schedule next year’s appointment ahead of time to help keep you on track.
Care With Your Comfort in Mind
Choosing a center with a compassionate team, such as all-female technologists who understand that patients may have anxiety about mammograms or concerns about pain with compression, can make the experience much more positive. Our Charlotte Radiology technologists work with patients every day, educating them on what to expect before, during and after their mammogram and using precise positioning to minimize any discomfort.
After receiving a mammogram or other imaging at Charlotte Radiology, results are sent to you via the patient portal and to your referring provider or primary care physician, so you can discuss them with them. Most women will return for their annual screening mammogram the following year, but should a concern be identified, Charlotte Radiology will provide patient navigation support so you and your physician know your next steps.
Finding a Breast Imaging Center: Where You Go for Your Breast Health Matters
Your breast health is too important to leave to chance. By choosing a breast imaging provider that offers subspecialized radiologists, advanced technology, and comprehensive breast health services, you are taking a proactive step toward a longer, healthier life.
- Choosing the right breast imaging center is crucial for maintaining your best breast health over time, as it influences the quality, accuracy, comfort, and convenience of your care.
- Charlotte Radiology breast centers offer subspecialized expertise, advanced technology and comprehensive screening and diagnostic care, including 3D mammography with Profound AI® and supplemental screening, which facilitates the earliest detection of breast cancer.
- With 19 convenient locations, extended hours, online self-scheduling, and additional women’s health services, Charlotte Radiology makes it easy for you to be proactive with your health.
