The Paulding County Hospital is pleased to announce the upgrade of their mammography services to 3D (also called tomosynthesis). 3D mammography imaging creates up to 80 thin slice pictures making cancers more visible to the physician. Conventional imaging consists of only 2-dimensional images. This imaging will help detect up to 40% more breast cancers than regular mammograms. In addition, 3D mammograms reduce the frequency of “call backs” frequently experienced by women with dense breasts. Having dense breasts creates additional challenges in deciphering mammograms. This creates a high frequency of this population having to return for additional testing. 3D mammograms will reduce the rate of these patients having to return for further testing, therefore reducing costs to the patient.
The process of performing a three-dimensional mammogram is very similar to a 2-dimensional mammogram. Most patients will not see a difference in the experience. The mammography unit at Paulding County Hospital has a patented comfort paddle designed to improve patient comfort. The unique comfort paddle allows pressure to be more evenly and gently distributed across the breast compared to conventional, flexible paddles. In addition, 3D mammograms are covered by most insurance companies at the same level as 2-dimensional mammograms.
In 2019, more than 268,000 women will be diagnosed with new breast cancer and over 2,600 men will be diagnosed with new breast cancer. Unfortunately, about 41,760 will lose the battle. Early detection is the life-saving key to beating breast cancer and becoming a survivor. Receiving a mammogram is the best tool for early detection and diagnosis. A conversation with your Primary Care Provider is the first step to learning risk factors for breast cancer, and to when to start scheduling regular mammograms. However, screening mammograms do not require a doctor’s order to be performed.
