When breast cancer is found and treated in early stages -- before it spreads too far -- it is highly curable. If the cancer is discovered and treated early, the five-year relative survival rate is greater than 90 percent.

Some mammograms are difficult to interpret due to dense breast tissue, scarring from previous surgery, scattered calcifications, or implants. Further testing is necessary for an accurate evaluation.

Women over the age of 40 should receive a mammography screening every year. Women under the age of 40 with either a family history of breast cancer or other concerns about their personal breast health should consult their doctor about when to start screenings. All women should get a baseline mammogram taken at age 35, to provide a basis for comparing future mammograms.

HRT replaces lost estrogen. During menopause, estrogen levels drop causing breast tissue to shrink and more fatty tissue to develop. For women on HRT, however, breast tissue remains dense and therefore is more difficult to evaluate. (This is a concern because HRT begins at an age when women's risk of breast cancer is significantly higher.)

A false negative is when a mammogram shows no sign of cancer, but cancer is present. This can happen when normal breast tissue hides breast cancer, so that it does not show up on the mammogram. A false positive is an abnormality that looks like cancer on a mammogram, but turns out to be normal. To make up for these limitations, testing beyond mammography is necessary.

Functional imaging, like BSGI, captures cell activity. Cancer cells have a much higher rate of metabolic activity and with BSGI those cells are highlighted indicating disease. Structural or anatomical imaging merely takes a picture of the structures within a breast that are normal or abnormal, like cysts, glands, ducts, tumors or scar tissue. Structural imaging techniques identify the presence of such structures, but cannot always determine what they are. The challenge comes in when dense benign tissue obscures the presence of cancer on a mammogram.

Sensitivity refers to the ability of an imaging technique to detect the presence of disease. Mammograms, for instance are highly sensitive, and detect any number of different abnormalities in the breast, in addition to possible cancers. Specificity refers to the technique's ability to detect that disease is actually not present. For instance, BSGI is very specific for cancer.

A palpable mass or lesion is a lump you can feel by touch.

Generally four images are taken, two for each breast, which are the same views or angles as mammography. Each view is acquired over about a 10 minute imaging period and the procedure lasts from 45 minutes to an hour for all angles to be completed.

Costs for the BSGI procedure vary depending upon your area of the country, but have been found to range from $400 - $1,000. However, it is covered by most insurance companies.

Insurance policies and procedures can vary. This procedure is generally covered by Medicare / Medicaid and most private carriers. Please consult with your insurance provider.

Call Dilon at 1-877-GO DILON for hospitals and health centers nationwide that are using the Dilon 6800.

Only moderate pressure is required to help form and stabilize the breast for imaging with BSGI, making it much more comfortable than a mammogram. Also, patients are seated through the entire procedure.

Nuclear medicine does use radiation, but in very low amounts. The drug used is called Miraluma or Sestimibi and the majority of the drug leaves your body within hours after administration with complete elimination within 30 hours. The radiation exposure from BSGI is exactly the same radiation dose that a patient would receive in a cardiac stress test, a common procedure that has been safely utilized for over 15 years.

This test, in one form or another, has been around for over 10 years and over the last three years has become a routine procedure for breast diagnostics in medical centers across the country.

The injection used in BSGI (Sestimibi) does not contain Iodine, but other allergic reactions can exist. For information on potential allergic reactions and after effects of the imaging agent Sestimibi please visit http://www.cardiolite.com/index_flash.html.

Small body movements, such as those listed, do not normally impact breast imaging. However, if your breast slips during the imaging process it will be necessary to restart imaging. Therefore you should make every attempt not to move during the imaging process.

Sestimibi, the drug used in BSGI, has not been evaluated for use in children (under 18). Please visit http://www.cardiolite.com/index_flash.html for more information.