The Test That Could Become the Gold Standard
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.
Along with pink ribbons and fund raising, women are encouraged to get their annual mammogram.
Mammograms are helpful for early detection and have saved lives. You may remember Suzanne’s story – how the cancer developed in a year in between annual tests.
While mammograms are a useful diagnostic tool, they do have limits.
About 10% of mammograms yield false positives.*
Add to that the biopsies due to false positives.
Not to mention the radiation exposure.
“Annual screening of 100,000 women aged 40 to 74 years was projected to induce 125 breast cancer cases…leading to 16 deaths…, relative to 968 breast cancer deaths averted by early detection from screening.”**
While mammograms can help save lives, they can also sometimes cause the cancer they are trying to detect.
Thankfully, there is a more effective imaging diagnostic tool that is radiation free.
It’s Quantitative Transmission Ultrasound or QT imaging.
“QT imaging is a new generation technology…that performs mapping without exposing the breast tissue to ionizing radiation…and creates a 3D volumetric map with 40 times the resolution of an MRI, without the need for the toxic contrast dye.”***
QT Imaging is FDA-cleared but considered a supplemental form of screening at this point.
The QT imaging technology has been around for 14 years but does not have the multi-decade track record like mammograms.
It’s possible your doctor may not even have heard of this new technology yet.
And the QT Imaging is not covered by insurance.
If you or someone you love has a health condition, or concern about repeated radiation exposure, or has dense breast tissue that is hard to read with a regular mammogram, QT imaging is a helpful, promising and seemingly more effective alternative.
As always, practice good self-care. Whether that’s through an annual mammogram or QT Imaging, you and your doctor can chart the best path for your unique needs and family history.
Wishing you a Joyful Autumn,
Shannon
*https://www.komen.org/breast-cancer/screening/mammography/accuracy/
**https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26756460/
***The Future of Breast Screening Ebook, p.21 https://www.drlongevityrx.com/breast-health
