Charlotte Radiology disagrees with the conclusions of the mammography study released on October 13 in the New England Journal of Medicine (Welch et al. study) siting the use of inaccurate data sources and proof from larger studies that indicates that the most lives are saved by annual screening mammograms beginning at age 40. To learn more, click one of the links below:
For more info, visit: www.charlotteradiology.com/pdfs/CRScreeningMammRecommendations.pdf
Tomosynthesis creates multiple images or “slices” that step through the breast tissue. This allows the radiologist to see greater detail and helps reduce the impact of overlapping breast tissue. The process is performed at the same time as a traditional 2D mammogram, on the same scanner with no noticeable difference in the experience or time expended for the patient.
“Tomosynthesis gives us the ability to see masses, particularly in dense breast tissue, that we might have difficulty detecting with traditional mammography. Because it reduces the overlap of tissue, most investigators have found that it leads to fewer callbacks and therefore less anxiety for women," explains Dr. Matthew Gromet, Chief of Mammography at Charlotte Radiology.
The procedure was approved by the FDA in February 2011 and is a modification of the current 2D (digital) mammography. The exam is performed on state-of-the-art digital equipment, which is able to obtain multiple low-dose images of a compressed breast from different angles. These images are then viewed individually and dynamically. Radiologists are able to view breast tissue layer by layer, one millimeter at a time, similar to a CT scan.
Dr. Terry Wallace a specialist in breast imaging for Charlotte Radiology noted, “Tomosynthesis is an exciting revolutionary technology that gives us the ability to scroll through each layer or slice of tissue to see what it really looks like. It reveals greater detail, which may help us detect cancer sooner.”
Tomosynthesis is an optional service for the patient, which supplements the traditional mammographic images. While 2D digital mammography remains the gold standard for early detection, 3D images can offer better visualization for radiologists who are helping certain groups of patients – particularly those with dense breasts. A woman’s breast tissue density is determined by a prior mammogram.
“All women may benefit from tomosynthesis; however, there is increased benefit to women with dense breast tissue because dense breast tissue may look similar to cancer tissue. 2D mammography can’t always differentiate between cancer and dense breast tissue” says Dr. Deborah Agisim, a specialist in breast imaging for Charlotte Radiology. “For example, if a 2D mammogram detects an area of concern, the radiologists may want to further investigate with a diagnostic mammogram, ultrasound or biopsy. Looking at the same breast tissue in 3D, the radiologist may now see that the tissue is in fact normal breast tissue. In this scenario, the patient likely avoided a callback for an additional mammogram.”
The radiation dose is approximately the same for tomosynthesis as it is for traditional 2D mammography. So the radiation is roughly doubled when doing a 2D mammogram along with tomosynthesis. Even this combined dose is still below the FDA-regulated limit for 2D mammography and has been found by the FDA to be safe and effective for patient use.
Insurance does not yet cover the tomosynthesis portion of the mammogram. However, the 2D portion of the exam is covered 100 percent by most plans. Patients will be required to pay an out-of-pocket fee of $50 at the time of service if they opt to supplement their mammogram with tomosynthesis.
To learn more about 3D Mammography, and find photos, videos and fast facts, please visit www.charlotteradiology.com/tomo
Congratulations to our very own Dr. Moore who was honored with four other outstanding area physicians as Charlotte Business Journal's Physician of the Year! The Charlotte Business Journal and SunTrust Bank hosted the Excellence in Healthcare Awards today. A write up on Dr. Moore and all the winners will be available in next Thursday's Business Journal.
In response to the recent study appearing in The Lancet stating that children who have undergone multiple CT’s have an increased risk of developing brain cancer or leukemia, Charlotte Radiology aligns itself with the Society for Pediatric Radiology (SPR). Following is a summary of the SPR response to the study:
- CT examinations can be lifesaving, and provide many benefits for the diagnosis and management of childhood disorders.
- The benefits of a CT examination, when indicated and performed appropriately, far outweigh the risks or potential risks.
- Today’s CT scanners have undergone many design and technological advancements, and thus use a fraction of the radiation dose of early CT scanners.
- There have been significant improvements in how CT scanning is performed in children (such as eliminating multiple phase scans, limiting the area scanned, and using appropriate child size machine settings) that also have lowered doses.
- Whenever possible, appropriate imaging modalities which do not use ionizing radiation, such as MR and ultrasound, should be considered.
The society also recommends that patients, parents and caregivers advocate for their children, following the recommendations of many organizations, including the Image Gently Alliance, by:
- Asking your physician or radiologist if CT is the right study to do, or would another examination that does not use radiation be acceptable.
- Assuring that the CT examination is going to be performed by an appropriately certified/accredited technologist and facility.
- Inquiring if size or age appropriated CT techniques will be used.
For additional information:
Charlotte Radiology Radiation Dosage Resource Page
Please refer to the following links for more detailed information as provided by two reputable organizations, the National Osteoporosis Foundation and The International Society for Clinical Densitometry.
National Osteoporosis Foundation
American Bone Health
http://www.americanbonehealth.org/images/stories/BMD_Testing_Interval_ISCD_Response_to_NEJM_Article.pdf
Charlotte Radiology
Orthopedic Radiology Section
Robert Raible, MD
James Coumas, MD
Brian Howard, MD
Ken Wolfson, MD
Robert Lopez, MD
W. Carey Werthmuller, MD
Tom Jones, MD
Recent news stories have focused on another mammography study that challenges the benefits of screening mammography. While this latest study noted in the Archives of Internal Medicine points out statistically relevant information about screening mammography's impact on mortality rates from breast cancer, it fails to address the many benefits of screening mammography's ability to catch breast cancers early, such as fewer surgeries and mastectomies and less need for chemotherapy and radiation cancer treatments. Instead their focus is on the many women whose screening mammogram detected a cancer that might not have taken their life.
An analogy could be to compare the suggestions made in the study to wearing seat belts:
Wearing seat belts saves lives --- of those that are in an accident.
(Having mammograms save lives for early detected, moderately aggressive cancers).
Wearing seat belts doesn't save lives -- of people who are not in an accident.
(Having mammograms doesn't save the lives of people who never get cancer, or have non-aggressive cancers).
One of the limits with today's technologies is that we have no way of knowing which breast cancers detected during mammography will in fact become aggressive, life-threatening cancers. Thus the choice of what to treat and what not to treat is sometimes in the hands of the patients, many of whom choose to treat the cancer rather than wait and see if it is going to develop further.
When referencing reduced mortality rates from screening mammography, Charlotte Radiology's physicians quote the American College of Radiology (ACR). The ACR states that since screening began in the U.S. more than 25 years ago, the death rate from breast cancer has declined by more than 30% since 1990. Additionally, Professor Laszlo Tabar, MD, conducted one of the longest running studies on the effects of screening mammography and found mortality reductions as high as 40% for screening mammography.
As Charlotte Radiology is one of the largest breast cancer screening programs in the country, we reviewed our own data to provide a local perspective. From June 1996 - December 2008, Charlotte Radiology performed nearly 625,000 screening mammograms. Of the breast cancers detected in our screening program, 21.4% were found in women ages 40-49. Breast cancer risk rises with age, but our 40-49 group had two-thirds the incidence of cancer compared to the 50-59 group (2.5 compared to 3.8 per thousand screens). These data are consistent with national statistics and confirm that age 50 is not a threshold for cancer.
Finally, Charlotte Radiology recommends the breast cancer detection guidelines as posted by the American Cancer Society and American College of Radiology.
Charlotte Radiology's Traveling Breast Center Improves Women's Access to Annual Screenings
A new mobile mammography unit will offer women in Mecklenburg, Gaston, Union and York counties easy access to early screening for breast cancer and could increase the number of women who get an annual screening mammogram.
Charlotte Radiology's mobile breast center hits the road Jan. 24, 2011 and will bring early breast cancer detection to locations in and around Charlotte. It's the first and only mobile mammography center dedicated to the four counties it serves.
The mobile center is a 38-foot long, state-of-the-art breast screening center on wheels. The vehicle is staffed by two mammography certified technologists and includes a registration and waiting area, two private dressing rooms and an exam room for completing the mammogram.
The Charlotte Radiology mobile unit will perform digital mammography exams, which improves exam quality, reduces radiation and shortens exam times.
Each exam will be interpreted by a board certified physician specialized in breast imaging. Most appointments take less than 30 minutes.
"Meeting our community's breast health needs and saving patients' lives is our top priority," said Charlotte Radiology president, Van Moore, M.D., F.A.C.R. "By offering our breast health expertise on wheels, we hope to bring early breast cancer detection services to women in a convenient, accessible way."
Only 68% of women ages 40 and above have had a mammogram within the past two years, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Charlotte Radiology hopes to improve that number.
"Our mobile breast center will allow Charlotte Radiology to reach women in the workplace and underserved areas," explained Cathleen Bates, Charlotte Radiology Breast Center Manager. "Our goal is to improve access and educate women about the importance of early detection, ultimately increasing the number of women getting their annual mammogram."
With the mobile center, Charlotte Radiology will be able to partner with local health departments and organizations to improve access to breast screening for the uninsured and underinsured.
Mecklenburg County has a reported breast cancer rate of more than 120 cases per 100,000 people, according to the National Cancer Institute — higher than the national average.
To learn more about our mobile breast center or to schedule a visit for your business or organization, please click here.. To schedule a screening mammography exam, call Charlotte Radiology at (704) 367-2232 or (877) 362-2232 toll free. A physician referral is not necessary for a screening mammogram, but patients will need to provide their physician's name to forward exam results.
Strategic Radiology (SR) announced today that it has named Mark J. Kleinschmidt as CEO. Kleinschmidt has worked in the radiology field for twenty two years and most recently served as CEO of St. Paul Radiology and Senior Vice President of Business Services for NightHawk Radiology.
Press release: Strategic Radiology names Kleinschmidt as CEO
For ten years, the Mecklenburg County Health Department (MCHD) has provided screening mammography services to the uninsured and underinsured women of Mecklenburg County. Charlotte Radiology Breast Center has been a partner of the MCHD, providing their patients with screening mammography readings, in addition to performing diagnostic exams when needed. To improve accessibility to state-of-the-art technology, the MCHD has discontinued on-site screening mammography and is now referring patients for digital screening mammography to Charlotte Radiology, which has nine convenient breast centers in Mecklenburg County.
Press Release: New Mammography Resources for Low Income Women in Mecklenburg County
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is hosting a two-day hearing to learn more about efforts being made to reduce patient exposure to radiation in medical imaging. Speakers range from equipment vendors who have added features to their imaging units that will reduce exposure, to the American College of Radiology (ACR). Both of these groups have implemented awareness campaigns and quality assurance initiatives.
Charlotte Radiology is proud to be closely aligned with the ACR, an industry leader in managing radiation exposure. Our group has embraced the "Image Gently" campaign which has raised awareness of pediatric radiation from medical imaging and how to limit radiation dose in children. Additionally, we participate in the ACR's quality assurance programs and have had the imaging equipment at our sites accredited to ensure that minimal doses of radiation are used. We recognize the risks involved with certain imaging studies and are committed to a continual review of our processes. We are currently developing protocols which seek ways to further limit radiation exposure while maintaining image quality for accurate diagnoses.
To learn more about radiation risks from medical imaging and how Charlotte Radiology is leading the way in managing those risks for the safety of our patients, visit: Charlotte Radiology Radiation Dosage
Having founded a formal organization in 2009, thirteen private-practice radiology groups across the country representing over 750 physicians today publicly announced the formation of Strategic Radiology (SR), an entity that embodies the vision and clinical goals of this network of like-minded regional medical practices, according to Van Moore, MD, Chairman of SR and president of Charlotte Radiology.
Press release: Regional Radiology Groups Form a National Consortium
Charlotte Radiology and Cabarrus Radiologists are pleased to announce the completion of their merger, January 1, 2010. The groups have agreed to keep Charlotte Radiology's name and together employee more than 80 radiologists in 10 sub-specialty areas ranging from pediatric imaging and breast imaging to neuroradiology and musculoskeletal radiology. The merger provides opportunities for the group to further improve their quality patient care, allowing for expanded sub-specialized radiology coverage and the integration of their medical systems, which will further enhance access to patient records and reports.
They will provide sub-specialized radiology services to several hospitals in NC, including Carolinas Healthcare System hospitals in Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Union, Lincoln and Anson counties, as well as Scotland Memorial Hospital, Davis Regional Medical Center and First Health Richmond Memorial Hospital. In addition to the radiology services they provide to CHS, Charlotte Radiology now jointly owns five outpatient imaging centers, a vein and vascular center, an interventional clinic, 12 breast imaging centers, two mobile MRIs and a mobile ultrasound.
Press release: Local Radiology Groups Merger Complete
CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 15, 2016 – Charlotte Radiology is expanding – again – its mobile mammography services by adding a fourth mobile breast center to its fleet. Responding to increased demand for convenient access to early screening for breast cancer, the new mobile unit will help Charlotte Radiology serve more women in Mecklenburg, Gaston, Union and York counties. And well beyond.
The new mobile unit, ready to roll on April 1, will be the first in the Carolinas and only the 13th in the United States to offer digital breast tomosynthesis, more commonly known as 3-D mammography. 3-D mammography creates multiple images that allow radiologists to look at different layers of breast tissue. It’s of greatest benefit to women with dense breast tissue and women having their first mammogram.
The primary benefits of 3-D mammography include reduced call backs for false positives and better visualization of breast tissue, which leads to greater visibility of small cancers. “Tomo,” as it’s also known, takes about the same amount of time as a traditional 2-D mammogram and requires a $55 out-of-pocket charge. Insurance does not yet cover the service.
Since 2011, Charlotte Radiology’s mobile units have performed more than 40,000 mammograms in 15 states in the southern United States – from Florida to Virginia and as far west as Texas. The newest screening unit will further improve access for women prone to delaying their screening mammograms – or not getting them at all. The mobile units provide “breast health expertise on wheels” at special events, health fairs and businesses.
“The mobile breast centers bring early breast cancer detection right to the workplace, allowing health-conscious employers the opportunity to provide their employees with a more convenient option for breast cancer screening,” said Katie Yarborough, Charlotte Radiology’s corporate health and community relations manager.
Exams can be billed to insurance, and there’s no additional cost to the hosting organization. A minimum number of patients is required. Learn more and view a calendar of events at mobilebreastcenter.com. To schedule an event, contact Katie Yarborough at 704.334.7812.
“We have the ability to operate our mobile units seven days a week and provide services to employees during first, second and third shifts to meet the needs of a company’s employee population,” she continued.
Charlotte Radiology is a member of Strategic Radiology, the nation’s largest consortium of independent, subspecialized radiology groups. That partnership allows Charlotte Radiology to expand its services even beyond the 15-state region it has served previously.
“Most mobile units are licensed only in the state they originate in, and many only serve the county they’re based in,” said Yarborough. “Our program is one of a few able to expand across many states. It’s our Belk partnership that has allowed our physicians to become licensed throughout Belk’s territory. For companies with employees spread across a number of geographies, having one mobile provider allows for the standardization of care.”
The new 38.6-foot-long, state-of-the-art breast screening facility joins three other mobile units in Charlotte Radiology’s fleet. Three are operated by Charlotte Radiology, and one is operated in partnership with Belk.
Each mobile breast center is staffed by two certified female mammography technologists and outfitted with a registration and waiting area, private dressing rooms and an exam room. Once an exam is performed, a board-certified radiologist interprets the mammogram and sends the confidential results to the patient and her primary care physician.
Each mobile breast center has the capacity to screen about 5,000 women each year. About half the women screened at one of Charlotte Radiology’s corporate partners are either new to mammography or overdue for a mammogram by two or more years. Charlotte Radiology’s mobile mammography units serve more than 90 businesses throughout the lower East Coast, Southeast and the Gulf states.
About Charlotte Radiology Breast Center Charlotte Radiology, established in 1967, is one of the largest radiology groups in the country. It operates 14 breast center locations, including two mobile breast centers, serving more than 100,000 women each year. All breast centers are accredited by the American College of Radiology, certified by the FDA and recognized as a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence. For more information: www.mobilebreastcenter.com.
What happens when "flawed" studies get media attention? Lives are at stake - which is why we turn to the experts to help us determine what's right and wrong. If you've heard about a recent Canadian Study debating the benefits of mammography, you must learn the facts. Read a Q&A from Dr. Daniel Kopans and responses from the American College of Radiology, the Society of Breast Imaging, Dr. László Tabár and Tony Hsiu-Hsi Chen.
Learn more:
- The American College of Radiology (ACR) supports the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) draft recommendation (Grade B) for computed tomography (CT) lung cancer screening of high-risk patients (those 55 through 79 years old and have a 30-pack-year or greater history of smoking).
- The Affordable Care Act requires that Medicare and private insurers provide coverage of all medical exams or procedures that receive a grade of “B” or higher from the USPSTF.
- The ACR looks forward to working with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Cancer Institute, Congress and other key stakeholders in taking the necessary steps to create a sustainable and effective CT lung cancer screening process. The College will work to provide as much guidance as possible to providers and patients as we work to finalize official practice guidelines and standards.
- The ACR encourages patients to speak with their doctors regarding the usefulness of CT scanning to screen for lung cancer in their particular cases.
*Please note that Charlotte Radiology has also chosen to recommend the study to a second tier of patients as recommended by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), which is patients ages 50+ with a 20 pack-year history of smoking and an additional risk factor. While Charlotte Radiology stands behind this recommendation, please note that the second tier recommendation has not, at this time, been adopted by the USPSTF.
Charlotte Radiology recommends that patients and caregivers speak with their primary care physicians about their smoking history to determine if a CT Lung Cancer Screening is right for them.
For additional information on this recommendation, please see:
American College of Radiology’s Full Response
Article from NPR News
Article from The Wall Street Journal
Please note that Charlotte Radiology does NOT purchase any medicine through the New England Compounding Center and that all methylprednisolone acetate has been purchased from a division of Pfizer. In addition, Charlotte Radiology has been assured by Pfizer that none of the drug purchased is in any way traced back to this compounding center. If you have any further questions or concerns related to this issue, please contact Jerome Carter at 704-442-4386.
Recent news stories have focused on another mammography study that challenges the benefits of screening mammography. While this latest study noted in the Archives of Internal Medicine points out statistically relevant information about screening mammography's impact on mortality rates from breast cancer, it fails to address the many benefits of screening mammography's ability to catch breast cancers early, such as fewer surgeries and mastectomies and less need for chemotherapy and radiation cancer treatments. Instead their focus is on the many women whose screening mammogram detected a cancer that might not have taken their life.
An analogy could be to compare the suggestions made in the study to wearing seat belts:
Wearing seat belts saves lives --- of those that are in an accident.
(Having mammograms save lives for early detected, moderately aggressive cancers).
Wearing seat belts doesn't save lives -- of people who are not in an accident.
(Having mammograms doesn't save the lives of people who never get cancer, or have non-aggressive cancers).
One of the limits with today's technologies is that we have no way of knowing which breast cancers detected during mammography will in fact become aggressive, life-threatening cancers. Thus the choice of what to treat and what not to treat is sometimes in the hands of the patients, many of whom choose to treat the cancer rather than wait and see if it is going to develop further.
When referencing reduced mortality rates from screening mammography, Charlotte Radiology's physicians quote the American College of Radiology (ACR). The ACR states that since screening began in the U.S. more than 25 years ago, the death rate from breast cancer has declined by more than 30% since 1990. Additionally, Professor Laszlo Tabar, MD, conducted one of the longest running studies on the effects of screening mammography and found mortality reductions as high as 40% for screening mammography.
As Charlotte Radiology is one of the largest breast cancer screening programs in the country, we reviewed our own data to provide a local perspective. From June 1996 - December 2008, Charlotte Radiology performed nearly 625,000 screening mammograms. Of the breast cancers detected in our screening program, 21.4% were found in women ages 40-49. Breast cancer risk rises with age, but our 40-49 group had two-thirds the incidence of cancer compared to the 50-59 group (2.5 compared to 3.8 per thousand screens). These data are consistent with national statistics and confirm that age 50 is not a threshold for cancer.
Finally, Charlotte Radiology recommends the breast cancer detection guidelines as posted by the American Cancer Society and American College of Radiology.
Reference to Welch and Frankel Study in Archives of Internal Medicine:
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/archinternmed.2011.476
ACR Response to Welch and Frankel Study in Archives of Internal Medicine:
http://www.acr.org/HomePageCategories/News/ACRNewsCenter/ACR-Statement-on-Welch-and-Frankel.aspx
A National Cancer Institute trial of 53,000 smokers and ex-smokers has shown that using CT to screen for lung cancer instead of a chest X-ray has reduced deaths from lung cancer by 20 percent over just five years. If you or a loved one are at high risk for lung cancer, the imaging experts at Charlotte Radiology encourage you to speak with your primary care physician about using CT to screen protocol.
Click here for more information on CT Lung Cancer Screening at Charlotte Radiology.
For more information on the National Cancer Institute Trial:
» National Institutes of Health
» American Cancer Society
» CNN Story
» Reuters Story
» Yahoo News Story
The American College of Radiology (ACR) Board of Chancellors awarded the
College’s highest honor, the ACR Gold Medal, to Charlotte Radiology President Arl Van Moore, Jr.,
MD, FACR, of Charlotte, at their spring conference in Washington, DC on May 15, 2011.
Annually, the ACR Board of Chancellors considers and votes on no more than three candidates for the Gold Medal Award. Candidates are recommended based on their distinguished and extraordinary service to the ACR or the discipline of radiology.
Dr. Moore has been active in the ACR on both the state and national levels. He is a past Chairman of the ACR Board of Chancellors and a recent past President of the ACR. As a member of the Board of Chancellors, he also held the office of Secretary Treasurer and Vice-Chairman of the Board. He chaired the ACR Task Force on Disaster Preparedness, and the International Teleradiology Task Force. He has served on the Council Steering Committee and has held numerous offices in the North Carolina Chapter of the ACR including President and Councilor. He has also distinguished himself serving as the ACR delegate to American Medical Association since 1998.
“Dr. Moore’s service to both the ACR and to the Charlotte medical community has been outstanding,” said fellow radiologist Christopher Ullrich, MD FACR, Neuroradiologist and Board Member for Charlotte Radiology. “His many contributions to the field of radiology have allowed us to make great strides over the years, and his insights and leadership are especially valued in recent months as we respond to the new healthcare reforms.”
Dr. Moore is a practicing radiologist and President of Charlotte Radiology in Charlotte, North Carolina, and serves as Chairman for Strategic Radiology, a national consortium of more than 890 radiologists partnered to share best-practice approaches to radiology. He received his BS at the University of Mississippi in Chemical Engineering and was commissioned as a line officer in the US Navy. He received postgraduate training in nuclear engineering and subsequently served as a nuclear engineer in the US Navy Nuclear Submarine Service. After his naval service he went to the University of Arkansas School of Medicine where he received his MD degree. After completing his radiology residency and fellowship at Duke University Medical Center, he continued at Duke on the Radiology Department teaching faculty. He joined Charlotte Radiology in 1983. He is ABR certified in Diagnostic Radiology and has an ABR certificate of added qualification in Interventional Radiology. He is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor of Radiology at Duke. He has published several papers and book chapters.
Dr. Moore and his wife Marie reside in Charlotte, North Carolina where he has been in the practice of radiology as an interventional radiologist and cross sectional imager for over 26 years.
A major critique of the Norway mammography study and other recent screening mammography studies is that they only measure one benefit of mammography — the decreased rate of mortality. But early detection of cancer — the purpose of mammography — is important for reasons beyond the lives it saves.
"For cancers detected early, surgery is less drastic and usually allows for preservation of the breast. In addition, fewer cases of early cancer spread to lymph nodes as well as reduced use of chemotherapy which is often expensive and debilitating," explains Dr. Matthew Gromet, breast imaging specialist with Charlotte Radiology.
The most recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine by Kalager et al (New Eng J Med 2010. 363:1203-1210) attributed a small benefit in mortality reduction to screening mammography, however the women weren't followed long enough. Cancers detected at a later stage are more difficult to treat and more likely to advance and/or return at a later time.
The breast cancer death rate has declined by 30% since 1990 when screening guidelines were enforced in the US. Why reverse this encouraging trend by discouraging early detection through mammography? Awareness and better treatments certainly attribute to this decrease, but it is no coincidence that the declining trends are consistent with more women getting screened.
In fact, new regulations by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will require private health insurers to cover preventive and early detection services, including annual screening mammography for women age 40 and older, with no cost sharing or co-pays in health plans issued or renewed after September 23, 2010.
The recommendation from breast health experts is consistent. 40 is the age to schedule your first mammogram and start an annual routine. Since 75% of women with breast cancer have no family history, there's no reason to wait. Following the American Cancer Society's guidelines for the early detection of breast cancer improves the chances that breast cancer can be diagnosed at an early stage and treated successfully.
For more Information please see:
American Cancer Society Blog Response: What Norway Tells Us About Screening Mammograms And Access To Care
Revised draft recommendations released by the US Preventative Services Task Force this week suggest that women at higher risk for osteoporosis be screened sooner than women who are at average risk for the bone-loss disease. The new draft recommendation from the USPS Task Force is an update to their 2002 recommendation and is based on a report from the Annals of Internal Medicine.
To find out if you are at a higher risk, take our Risk Assessment at: Questionaire
For more information on Bone Density Testing and the our sub-specialized musculoskeletal radiologists at Charlotte Radiology, visit: Bone Density Testing
Dr. Gromet, Charlotte Radiology's Chief of Breast Imaging, exposes many of the flaws in the Task Force mammogram recommendations released in November 2009. His article, published in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, reinforces the fact that women need to begin their annual screening mammogram routine at age 40.
New study in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons finds US Preventative Services Task Force mammography recommendations could hinder early detection.
Palpable breast cancers are more common in women not undergoing annual mammography
Recent concerns over radiation exposure from imaging studies have left some patients unsure about the radiology studies ordered by their physicians. Radiology studies like CT, MRI, Nuclear Medicine, Ultrasound, X-ray and mammography are imaging tools used to help diagnosis patients medical conditions. Some of these studies use radiation to obtain the picture, including CT, X-ray, Nuclear Medicine and mammography. The amount of radiation exposure varies by procedure, but typically radiation doses from imaging exams are relatively small and the clinical benefit of an exam far outweighs the risks.
Charlotte Radiology is committed to quality, accurate reads and participates in the American College of Radiology's (ACR) quality initiative programs. As a result we are actively involved in understanding and weighing the benefits and risk of our imaging procedures. Our "Radiation Risks" flier outlines some frequently asked questions as well as provides some questions you can ask your doctor about the test he or she recommended. You can learn more or download a PDF of the flier here.
Also notable, is a research story that broke last week indicating that women get 22% less radiation from Digital Mammography than from traditional analogue mammography. Charlotte Radiology is pleased to be the areas first provider for digital mammography; today all 12 of our Breast Imaging Centers are fully digital! Learn more here.
For more information or questions about radiation used in imaging studies, please call 704-334-7810.
