Women with dense breasts are at an increased risk of breast cancer. However, Automated Breast Ultrasound Screening in conjunction with a mammogram can find more cancers in women with dense breasts than mammography alone.
For women with dense breast tissue, Automated Breast Ultrasound Screening is a new technology to screen for breast cancer. About 48% of women have dense breast tissue and are at an increased risk for breast cancer.
Our goal is to find cancers when they are small and more easily treatable. Automated Breast Ultrasound Screening can find small cancers that mammography may miss in dense breast tissue. On a mammogram, dense breast tissue and cancer both appear white making it difficult to see tiny cancers. ABUS is not a replacement for screening mammography. Adding Breast Ultrasound Screening to your annual screening mammogram can help you be confident in your results.
The Breast Center has offered breast ultrasound screening since 2012 and is the only center in Arkansas to offer this advanced screening tool. In line with our mission to provide hope through early detection with personalized care, we offer specialized screening for women with dense breast tissue. Because for women with dense breasts, Breast Ultrasound Screening finds more small cancers than mammography alone.
Research Shows
Since offering Automated Breast Ultrasound Screening, The Breast Center has performed nearly 10,000 ABUS exams and found 3.2 cancers per 1000, which is similar to the national average of 3-4 cancers for women who have breast ultrasound in addition to mammograms.
At The Breast Center, the majority of cancers the radiologists found with Breast Ultrasound Screening were not seen on the mammogram because they were hidden by dense tissue. If the women who received these exams had not chosen to have the additional screening, they might not have found the cancers until they were much larger.
How do I know if I have dense breasts?
After your mammography exam, the breast radiologist will interpret the 3D images and indicate the type of breast tissue on your mammogram report. You and your primary physician or gynecologist will receive the mammogram report letter by mail or on our secure patient portal. The types of breast tissue are fatty tissue, scattered fibroglandular tissue, dense tissue, or extremely dense tissue on the report.
Dense tissue can make it harder for the radiologist to see cancers on your mammogram. If your breast tissue is indicated as dense or extremely dense, consider having a Breast Ultrasound Screening in addition to your mammogram each year.
If you have any questions about your breast density or mammogram report, please contact one of our nurses at (479-442-6266).
What to Expect
- Breast Ultrasound Screening requires no breast
compression, no radiation, and no injections - Breast Ultrasound Screening is painless.
- You will be asked to change out of your blouse and bra, and provided a gown to wear for the exam.
- The ultrasound covers the entire breast and takes about 20 to 30 minutes.
Breast Ultrasound Screening is permanently recorded for your physician’s review and follow-up. The breast imagers will interpret the ultrasound images and send a report to you and your doctor in a couple of days following your examination.
Is Breast Ultrasound Screening covered by insurance?
Automated Breast Ultrasound Screening is cleared by the FDA as an additional examination in conjunction with screening mammography. In Arkansas, most insurance companies cover the cost of this examination if it is recommended.
At your next mammography appointment, ask your technologist if you have dense breast tissue and if this examination may be right for you.
Appointments
Request an appointment online or call to make an appointment for a Breast Ultrasound Screening in Fayetteville or Bentonville, call (479) 442-6266. You do not need a physician’s referral. You can schedule your breast ultrasound screening in the same appointment as your mammogram.
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