Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Advanced Breast Cancer Diagnosis

A routine breast examination is advised for all women to identify any suspicious lumps so that breast cancer detection is made as early as possible. Mammography is the most common first line screening tool for breast cancer. But in some cases, mammography may miss some abnormalities, especially if the woman’s breast tissue is dense. Sometimes dense breast tissue and cancers may appear similar in mammography.

So, a lump that may be felt manually may appear as normal breast tissue when screened through mammography which may then lead to a biopsy to confirm cancer. But now, even the cancerous tissue that mammography misses can be identified by a new diagnostic technique called breast specific gamma imaging.

This is different from mammography, sonography or MRI. The imaging in breast specific gamma imaging is not anatomical, but functional. It is also much superior to traditional screening methods because gamma imaging picks up cells that are beginning to act cancerous even before the abnormality becomes advanced enough to be visible on a mammogram or a sonogram.

Even in women who are diagnosed with Breast Cancer using other methods, breast specific gamma imaging may prove beneficial because it can highlight other malignant lesions that might have been missed by the mammography or the physical exam.

The malignancies that are identified during diagnoses form an important aspect in determining the treatment to be administered. Sometimes, the gamma imaging may provide crucial information that necessitates important differences in the therapy.

Mammography relies hugely on the structure of the breast to identify cancers. Breast specific gamma imaging, on the other hand, tracks the uptake of a radiotracer or a dye by breast cancer cells. The BSGI technology uses a special dye that is injected intravenously. The absorption rate of the dye by normal breast tissue and cancerous tissue vary significantly and it is this property that helps identify breast cancer. A gamma camera is used to track the dye and the malignancies or lesions are identified digitally.

The diagnostic procedure is also comfortable compared to other methods. The woman only needs to be seated comfortably and the entire procedure is over within 40 minutes. The results can also be read immediately. Breast specific gamma imaging is especially useful to detect breast cancer in women who have dense breast tissue, breast implants or scar tissue. In such cases, a mammogram may be hard to read and gamma imaging can come in quite handy.

In fact, about 20 percent of the women who have breast cancer have normal mammogram

readings. The significance of BSGI is not to be underestimated.

About the Author

Alex White is a free lance writer and a health & fitness expert who has been associated with several health care providers across various specialties. Through his articles, Alex White wishes to inform and educate public about Breast Cancer which will benefit those who are looking for resourceful information regarding health.

Can anyone help me find out the average life span after breast cancer diagnosis?

My dear Mum finally lost her battle with breast cancer this week and although it's horribly sad it is a release for her after everything she went through. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer 22 years ago and it spread to various parts (actually most) of her body but she was a true fighter! I am just wondering if this was a remarkable length of time to survive and if so, are there statistics to support it? I haven't been able to find any but if someone can I'd really appreciate it. I acknowledge that it must depend on a great many variables but some sort of average would be interesting to find.

Thank you!

Your mother was indeed remarkable . . and more people should learn about the long survival time of these patients. Cancer is not an automatic death sentence and people can actually outlive their cancer. Your mother did well . . there really is no 'average' because every cancer is unique to each individual . .that is why it is so hard to find a single 'cure'. Cancer is made up of the unique DNA from each person . . so treatment response and prognosis is often unique to that one person. Just like no two individuals are alike . . so it goes with cancer, unfortunately.

The statistics and prognosis you read about for each cancer is in general terms only . . . so in your mothers case it would depend on what stage she was originally diagnosed in . . what her response was originally . . what type of cancer . . what grade . . the specific location of the disease . . and she would need to be matched with others with the more or less same type of cancer, location, responses, and specific location . . details that are generally not kept. So . . your mom 's disease and response to the disease were as remarkable as she was . . and don't let anyone tell you any different.

John And Elizabeth Edwards

 

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