Thank you so much for this! There are no clear answers for every person, but this is very helpful information to think through doing the mammogram or not. I'm curious why the screening procedure does not to use the more powerful ultrasound rather than the xray. It seems like that's a route to improved accuracy in detection if it's the next step after a positive xray. I'm sure it comes down to financial costs...
I asked this during my ultrasound last year... I had the exact same thought. Turns out -- ultrasounds are highly effective at pinpointing a specific area of the breast. You need to know where to look. It is not an effective tool to look at the entirety of both breasts. It would take too long (and probably cost too much). Screening tests are required to be fast. My ultrasound took ~25 minutes to simply locate what was seen on the mammogram and get a good picture of it (so the radiologist could review). Given the time required and the focused area of the ultrasound "camera" it is not a good candidate for screening. It is a diagnostic tool that can be used following a positive screen or when a lump is found.
I'm super glad to know the limits of the ultrasound and also appreciate that for once it doesn't seem to come down to costs for insurance companies. Thank you for the follow up!
Thank you so much for this! There are no clear answers for every person, but this is very helpful information to think through doing the mammogram or not. I'm curious why the screening procedure does not to use the more powerful ultrasound rather than the xray. It seems like that's a route to improved accuracy in detection if it's the next step after a positive xray. I'm sure it comes down to financial costs...
I asked this during my ultrasound last year... I had the exact same thought. Turns out -- ultrasounds are highly effective at pinpointing a specific area of the breast. You need to know where to look. It is not an effective tool to look at the entirety of both breasts. It would take too long (and probably cost too much). Screening tests are required to be fast. My ultrasound took ~25 minutes to simply locate what was seen on the mammogram and get a good picture of it (so the radiologist could review). Given the time required and the focused area of the ultrasound "camera" it is not a good candidate for screening. It is a diagnostic tool that can be used following a positive screen or when a lump is found.
I'm super glad to know the limits of the ultrasound and also appreciate that for once it doesn't seem to come down to costs for insurance companies. Thank you for the follow up!