The mammogram immediately zeroed in on a suspicious area so tiny it easily could have escaped detection, said Enochs, a registered nurse. Dr. A. Christine Watt, chief of breast imaging at the St. John center, called a surgeon the same day and scheduled Enochs for a biopsy. It was cancer, and it was found and removed at such an early stage that she needs no further surgery, radiation or chemotherapy. I tell all my friends about it. The new technology and other changes signal an important new era in mammography and breast biopsy.
New tools work like computer spell-checking programs to point out abnormalities on mammograms.
Advances in breast biopsy techniques and machines offer women minimally invasive ways of having samples of breast tissue collected, leaving only a single, tiny scar that fades with time. A new method called sentinel lymph node biopsy is being studied. It requires the removal of only one lymph node instead of as many as a half dozen to check for the spread of cancer. All of this gives women reassurance that cancer will be found if it's there and a greater sense of comfort. Watt predicts that most Michigan mammography centers will add digital technology within the next 5 years.