Dominican Offers Improved Breast Cancer Detection with 3-D Mammography

SANTA CRUZ — The Dominican Breast Center, a joint venture between Dignity Health Dominican Hospital and Radiology Medical Group of Santa Cruz County, now offers three-dimensional mammography for the detection of breast cancer. The Dominican Breast Center is the only medical facility in Santa Cruz County delivering tomosynthesis 3-D Mammography, the latest advancement in mammogram technology.

“Dominican Hospital is proud to partner with the Dominican Breast Center to provide state-of-the-art breast care, right here in our community,” said Dominican Hospital President Nanette Mickiewicz, MD. “With this technology, we are offering our patients both excellence and convenience — we deliver the most advanced technology available for breast cancer detection and spare local patients from traveling to facilities outside of our area.”

“With 2-D mammography, small cancers could be hidden by overlapping breast tissue,” said radiologist Kenneth Averill, MD, of Radiology Medical Group of Santa Cruz County. “3-D mammography has been shown to significantly improve breast cancer detection rates over conventional 2-D mammography, at the same low radiation dose. The ability to find smaller cancers results in improved patient outcomes.”

During tomosynthesis exams, an X-ray tube moves in an arc around the breast to produce digital images from multiple angles. This technique provides a clearer depiction of breast tissue compared to standard 2-D mammography and, for most patients, the entire process takes approximately 10 minutes. The technology has been shown to decrease the number of false-positive mammograms by revealing that possible abnormalities are actually the overlapping of normal tissue. This results in fewer women called back to undergo additional imaging, decreasing patient anxiety and inconvenience.

Tomosynthesis is a particular advantage for the 40 percent of women with dense breast tissue. It can find small cancers and better define larger tumors that may be obscured by dense tissue on conventional 2-D mammograms.

The Dominican Breast Center has been designated a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology (ACR). For more information about the Dominican Breast Center and 3-D tomosynthesis mammography, visit www.dignityhealth.org/dominican/medical-services/imaging-radiology/breast-center.

Dignity Health Dominican Hospital has been caring for the Santa Cruz County community for more than 70 years. Dominican offers emergency services and is a Certified Stroke Center and Chest Pain Center. To learn more, please visit our website: www.dignityhealth.org/dominican.

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Radiology Medical Group of Santa Cruz County (RMGSCC) has been providing high-quality, comprehensive diagnostic imaging services to Santa Cruz County since 1930. To learn more, please visit our website at www.rmgscc.com.