Cancer Society Recommends Breast MRIs

The American Cancer Society recommends that 1.4 million US women with a high risk of developing breast cancer should get annual MRIs along with the traditional mammogram. MRI makes more detailed images with a magnet and radio waves but without radiation, and they are better at showing increased or abnormal blood flow in the breast, a sign of early cancers not visible on a mammogram. While MRIs are much more expensive than mammograms ($2000 to $150), they have proven to detect smaller cancers that mammograms might miss. In one study of women with cancer in one breast, the MRI scans revealed cancers in the opposite breast that were missed by ordinary mammograms in 3 percent of these cancer survivors. While some MRI results give false positives and give the need for a biopsy to ensure the correct diagnosis, it is better to be safe than sorry.

This article was intriguing to me because I lost an aunt to breast cancer in 1994. Also, I participated in Relay for Life last night, so cancer research was on my mind. Everyone knows that early detection is key in treating and preventing cancer, and hopefully this finding will help to aid in the result.

http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/7228/537616.html