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ALBEMARLE HOSPITAL ONLY HOSPITAL IN REGION
THAT OFFERS STATE-OF-THE-ART DIGITAL MAMMOGRAPHY
Digital mammography is the standard in state of the art technology used to find and diagnose breast cancer. Albemarle Hospital was the first hospital in the Albemarle region to offer this imaging tool – and remains the only hospital providing digital mammography to residents of northeastern North Carolina.
The process used in digital mammography is similar to traditional mammograms; compression and X-rays are used to create clear images of breast tissue. It has shown to be most effective in women less than 50 years of age, women with dense breasts, and pre-menopausal women.
Digital mammography offers several advantages over conventional mammography, including near immediate production of images, which allows a technician to make sure the image is clear before the patient leaves; the ability to store, transmit, and copy information via computers; and the ability of radiologists to adjust brightness, change contrast, magnify images, and easily manipulate specific areas of the image.
“Our interest is in early detection of breast cancer,” said George L. Jordan, D.O., the lead interpreting mammography radiologist with Peninsula Radiological Associates who interprets images at Albemarle Hospital. ”Because the image is now in a digital format … it makes abnormal densities, and calcifications easier to see – and more importantly the morphology of calcifications – and that would help us determine if a calcification looks benign, or has suspicious characteristics that would need to be biopsied. Conventional mammograms are just not as clear.”
From the patient’s standpoint, digital mammography provides physicians with the latest tool which either rules out abnormalities, or helps catch them earlier.
“There are a couple of reasons we like digital mammography for our patients,”
said Tony Ruiz, a surgeon with Carolina Surgical Care. “There’s been recent studies that show digital mammography, in particular for women under 50, those with dense breasts, and pre-menopausal women, provides us with a much better image. The other thing is, because it’s digital and is stored electronically, you can have several physicians looking at it at one time – we can sit down and review the image together, which is a great benefit for the patient.”
For Donna Brickle, a 63-year old Elizabeth City resident, it wasn’t so much that digital mammography was the latest and greatest … it was more the people who helped her through a trio of trips to Albemarle Hospital last year before learning areas of concern were unharming calcium deposits.
“They found some spots that looked different (than her previous annual mammogram), so they sent me for a second mammogram,” she said. “Then, they did a biopsy, and sent me for a third. Quite honestly, I couldn’t tell a lot of difference – although it did seem like it went faster. It was a painless, non-traumatic experience.
“The worry before, and the wait for the results are the biggest things. But the ladies at the hospital (in mammography) are always super nice. It felt like we were on a first-name basis … and they were just super – so friendly.”
Donna received good news then, and again following her annual mammogram this year.
“The doctor was pleased with the results, so everything’s turned out okay.”
The National Cancer Institute recommends women in their 40s and above should be screened every one to two years with a mammogram; and women who are at higher than average risk of breast cancer should seek expert medical advice about whether they should begin screening before the age of 40, and also how often to undergo a mammogram.
“Digital mammography is an incredible tool in the early detection, and management, of breast cancer,” said Reggie Pearson, Director of Diagnostic Imaging at Albemarle Hospital. “It offers so much to the patient … and those same benefits to radiologists who read the images as well. We’re extremely proud to bring digital mammography to Albemarle Hospital.”
If you have any questions regarding digital mammography, and how it may benefit your health, please ask your physician. You must be referred by a physician to obtain a digital mammogram at Albemarle Hospital.
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