While mammography still remains the first step for breast cancer screening and diagnosis, it cannot differentiate between benign and malignant tissue, and is less accurate in patients with dense breast tissue.
While testing for breast cancer can be nerve-wracking, tests are an essential part of:
- finding breast cancer early, when it is most treatable,
- helping your physician design the treatment plan that is right for you, and
- determining the effectiveness of your continuing care.
There are new and emerging testing options for more accurate, non-invasive diagnosis of breast cancer, including ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), These techniques, like mammography, take different "pictures" of the anatomy or structures within the breast, that when compared to a mammogram, can tell more about a suspicious area. However, nuclear or functional imaging - Breast-Specific Gamma Imaging - can measure the physiologic nature of cells to help differentiate malignant from benign tissue.