A Second Set of Eyes
Radiologists Have New Tool For Detecting Possible Breast Cancer

Click here to view this story as it appeared in the Morganton News Herald (Includes additional graphics and information) in pdf format. (about 1.2 megs)

By ANNA WILSON - Blue Ridge HealthCare

SPECIAL TO THE NEWS HERALD

MORGANTON - In 2005, a projected 6,335 women in North Carolina will be diagnosed with breast cancer, 70 in Burke County, according to North Carolina Central Cancer Registry. Many of these women will survive because they were diagnosed early.

The nationally accredited Imaging Centers at Blue Ridge HealthCare are helping increase the survival rate through more advanced diagnoses by adding the new ImageChecker® Computer-Aided Detection (CAD) system for use in breast cancer screening.

“CAD supports our existing imaging services,” said Ivan Vinueza, director of radiological services at BRHC. “The purchase of this new equipment reflects our commitment to excellent care by utilizing the most advanced technology.”

Vinueza compared the technology to that of satellite surveillance. “Satellite imaging surveys the earth to analyze potential threats. Images are taken and computers apply logic to determine if the area photographed merits close attention and potential action,” he said. “CAD works the same way. It applies logic to the mammogram pictures and compares the densities and border characteristics to a large database of known abnormal mammograms. The result is labeling of suspicious areas on a digital image, which the radiologist uses as an aid when reviewing mammograms.”

Dr. Jeffrey Zapawa, a new radiologist at Blue Ridge HealthCare, likes using the CAD system. “I prefer to read mammograms using high resolution film with a digital image of what CAD reveals. While studies have not proved the benefits of digital mammography in the diagnosis of breast cancer, they have proved the benefits of CAD, hence our investment in this technology.”

Dr. Zapawa says he studies the images to form his own opinion. “I stress my own opinion first, but CAD is like having a highly trained second set of eyes in a sense,” he said. “It’s nice if I think I’ve found something and CAD confirms it. I can offer the patient and referring physician a more definitive interpretation.”

Early detection for breast cancer is critical since it can be readily treated. Nearly 98 percent of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer in the earliest stage survive the disease, whereas only 26 percent survive if the disease is diagnosed in the most advanced stage, according to the North Carolina Central Cancer Registry.

The physical makeup of breast tissue makes mammography a challenge. Breasts are made up of gland tissue and ducts. On a mammogram, the gland tissue looks dense and is hard to see through. Some women have denser breasts than others, according to the BreastCancer.org Web site.

The Web site noted that dense breasts have more glandular and connective tissue and less fat tissue. Younger women tend to have denser breasts than older women. And thinner women tend to have denser breasts than heavier women.

Unfortunately, breast cancer also is made up of dense tissue so it can be difficult to spot on a mammogram. The CAD will help rectify that and highlight areas for the radiologists to take a second look.

Some of these areas are smaller than a half a grain of rice, says Gloria Coleman, RT, RM, coordinator of mammography. “The CAD has been picking up a lot of small calcifications and these can be the very beginning of cancer,” she said. “Not all calcifications mean cancer, but they are areas to watch.”

Blue Ridge HealthCare purchased the system through a $129,501 grant from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust.

“CAD is a service that is very applicable in our community,” Vinueza said. “For one, we have a high incidence of breast cancer in the area, and secondly, it is proven technology that aids in early detection; therefore increasing the treatment options and success rates of therapies.”

Vinueza noted that Blue Ridge HealthCare is dedicated to fighting breast cancer in numerous ways. “We want to make sure all women over 40 receive annual mammograms,” he said.

“We can help by making them less painful with the use of softening devices, offering late hour mammograms for busy women, working with the Susan B. Komen Foundation to provide free mammograms for the uninsured, and implementing technologies that improve the diagnosis of breast cancer and education to our community.”

BRHC’s Radiology Department is accredited with the American College of Radiology, an FDA-designated accrediting body under the Mammography Quality Standards Act.

To schedule a mammogram at Grace Hospital, please call 580-6900; or at Valdese Hospital, please call 879-7611.

To search for information on a variety of health topics, please visit our web site at www.BlueRidgeHealth.org.

Anna Wilson is the health writer at Blue Ridge HealthCare.

The second largest employer in Burke County, Blue Ridge HealthCare serves a four-county area and includes Grace and Valdese hospitals, Blue Ridge Home HealthCare, Grace Heights and College Pines Health & Rehabilitation Centers, Grace Ridge Retirement Community, Phifer Wellness Center and a number of physician practices.