In 2008, it was projected that 6,347 women in North Carolina would be diagnosed with breast cancer, 78 of them in Cleveland County, according to North Carolina Central Cancer Registry. Many of these women will survive because they were diagnosed early.

The nationally accredited Radiology Department at Cleveland Regional Medical Center is helping increase the survival rate through more advanced diagnoses by adding the new ImageChecker® Computer-Aided Detection (iCAD) system for use in breast cancer screening in conjunction with a new digital mammography equipment.

“This is an exciting new step in advancing local breast cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment,” said Liz Popwell, FACHE, Chief Ancillary Executive at CRMC. “iCAD supports our existing imaging services. The purchase of this new equipment along with our newly acquired digital mammography system reflects our commitment to excellent care by utilizing some of the most advanced technology available.”

The ImageChecker® applies logic to mammograms, and compares the densities and border characteristics to a large database of known abnormal mammograms. The result is the computer labels suspicious areas on a digital image, which the radiologist uses as an aid when reviewing mammograms.

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, and some women have denser breasts than others.

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. “Some of these areas are smaller than a half a grain of rice”, said Donna Ledbetter, chief technologist and mammography coordinator. “The iCAD 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.”

CRMC’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 CRMC, please call 980-487-3141.