The latest in computer technology is being used to help doctors detect breast cancer in its earliest stages. Breast cancer strikes one out of every eight American women. It is the most common form of cancer among women in the U.S., with about 185,000 new cases discovered annually. If the cancer is diagnosed early, the cure rate is very high, with 97 percent of women surviving for five years.
Mammograms are an invaluable tool for the early detection of breast cancer.
CAD can detect early cancers that radiologists may not see and marks them for doctors to check further. Freer conducted the nation's largest study of computer-aided detection. Of more than 12,000 women, radiologists and CAD found 49 unsuspected cancers, more than either found alone. But Freer says that radiologists won't be replaced yet. CAD is available at about 100 centers in the U.S., including St. Vincent's Medical Center in Jacksonville.