Health & Fitness
3D technology improves breast exams
"The 3D mammogram looks and feels like its traditional counterpart, except the arm swings over the breast," says Dr. Karen Eisele of EMG.
About 40-thousand women in the U.S. die from breast cancer each year. But, since the late 1980s, the death rate has been decreasing due, in part, to earlier detection through screening. In fact, if detected early, the five-year survival rate for breast cancer is 98 percent.
One of the early detection methods is mammography, an X-ray of the breast tissue that helps doctors determine if there are any abnormalities or changes in the breasts.
Tomosynthesis, also known as 3D mammography, is the latest advanced breast imaging technology that supports earlier and more accurate diagnosis of breast cancer, compared to traditional 2D mammography.
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“The 3D mammogram looks and feels like its traditional counterpart, except the arm swings over the breast,” says Karen Eisele, DO, a board certified family medicine physician with Edward Medical Group. “This allows it to take low-dose images of the breast at multiple angles.”
Dr. Eisele says the images are then used to produce a series of one-millimeter thick slices that can be viewed as a 3D reconstruction of the breast.
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Because the doctor can exam the tissue layer by layer, abnormal tissue is less likely to be hidden behind other structures in the breast such as blood vessels, milk ducts, fat and ligaments. The doctor can more easily see and interpret any suspicious masses, which results in a lower rate of patients called back for additional images.
Annual mammograms are recommended for women age 40 and older. Clinical breast exams done by a doctor or health professional, and routine breast self-exams are also important detection tools. And, knowing your family history and other risk factors is critical.
For more information about 3D mammography, visit www.EEHealth.org/services/cancer/breast-health. To schedule a 3D mammography appointment, call (630) 527-3200.
Dr. Eisele’s Edward Medical Group office is located in the Edward-Elmhurst Health Center – Yorkville at 76 W. Countryside Parkway. For more information or to make an appointment, call (630) 553-2722 or visit www.EEHealth.org/EMG.