State-of-the-art screening tests can detect cancer early when it's most treatable.

There are two different stages of testing. Screening tests, such as an annual mammogram, look for signs of disease in women without symptoms; they should be part of every healthy woman's routine. Diagnostic tests, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), blood tests, or bone scans, become part of the process when breast cancer is suspected or has been diagnosed.

Mammogram:

The mammogram is the first line of defense against breast cancer. This two-dimensional X-ray of the breast is a highly effective tool in detecting breast cancer, long before a lump may be felt.

Since 2005, doctors at Wuesthoff's Suntree Diagnostic Center have been reading mammograms with the aid of computers -- not film. They say it's more efficient and frequently more effective. In addition to being faster and requiring less radiation for the patient, a digital mammogram provides a picture whose resolution is clearer than in a common analog mammogram.

Wuesthoff's digital mammography machine includes a software program that helps doctors locate and identify abnormalities in the breast, increasing the doctor's ability to make an early diagnosis of breast cancer.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI):

MRI is a powerful diagnostic tool that uses magnetic fields, not radiation, to create images of the body. The best MRI technique involves the use of a special "breast coil." During an MRI, the patient lays still and is moved in and out of a narrow tube as the machine creates images of her body.

MRI of the breast is effective “once a cancer has been diagnosed, to determine the extent of the cancer," Bassett says. "That's because MRI measures areas with particularly high blood flow, and tumors increase blood flow because they create new blood vessels, which is how they grow."

Breast MRI can also be effective in detecting cancer among women at high risk ---those with a family history of the disease and those who have already had breast cancer. Combined, the use of digital mammography and breast MRI provides a 97% accurate diagnosis of breast cancer.

Breast MRI is expensive and requires highly specialized equipment and highly trained experts.

Leading the Way:

Wuesthoff Health System is proud to have been the first to bring Digital Mammography to Brevard County, keeping Wuesthoff at the forefront of technology and health services for the women of our community. Since its installation, digital mammography, with its shorter time requirements, lower radiation exposure for patients and improved diagnostic abilities, has been overwhelmingly embraced by Brevard residents.

In the fall of 2007, Wuesthoff took the lead again by becoming the first hospital to offer Breast MRI with biopsy capability Brevard County. Recommended in spring of 2007 by the American Cancer Society, breast MRI is becoming the new standard in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment for patients at high risk for breast cancer and for those who have already been diagnosed.

Gifts from the 2006 Society of 1941 members along with proceeds from the 2007 Gala provided the funds to purchase the MRI breast coil and associated technology for Wuesthoff's Rockledge Medical Center.

The Importance of Early Detection:

Early detection is the key to surviving breast cancer. The most recent studies show that detection of Stage 1 breast cancer has a 100% 5-year survival rate compared to the general public.

In a study of 17 Central Cancer Registries (26% of the US Population, 357,460 cases), the overall 5-year survival rate was:

Stage I	100%	This stage describes invasive breast cancer (cancer cells are breaking through to or invading neighboring normal tissue) in which the tumor measures up to two centimeters, AND no lymph nodes are involved.
Stage II	89%	The tumor measures at least two centimeters, but not more than five centimeters, OR cancer has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm on the same side as the breast cancer. Affected lymph nodes have not yet stuck to one another or to the surrounding tissues, a sign that the cancer has not yet advanced to stage III. (The tumor in the breast can be any size.)
Stage III	60%	Stage IIIA describes invasive breast cancer in which the tumor measures larger than five centimeters, OR there is significant involvement of lymph nodes. The nodes clump together or stick to one another or surrounding tissue.
Stage IIIB		describes invasive breast cancer in which a tumor of any size has spread to the breast skin, chest wall, or internal mammary lymph nodes (located beneath the breast right under the ribs, inside the middle of the chest).
Stage IV	21%	This stage includes invasive breast cancer in which a tumor has spread beyond the breast, underarm, and internal mammary lymph nodes, and a tumor may have spread to the supraclavicular lymph nodes (nodes located at the base of the neck, above the collarbone), lungs, liver, bone, or brain.
		"Metastatic at presentation" means that the breast cancer has spread beyond the breast and nearby lymph nodes, even though this is the first diagnosis of breast cancer. The reason for this is that the primary breast cancer was not found when it was only inside the breast. Metastatic cancer is considered stage IV.

Source: The Oncologist – Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program. (SEER) – National Cancer Institute

How You Can Help:

Current technology, digital mammograms and breast MRI are crucial to the early detection of breast cancer. Wuesthoff plans to add digital mammography in our Rockledge Medical Center and Breast MRI in our Melbourne Medical Center. To meet demand, we need to purchase two digital mammography units in Rockledge and one in Melbourne. We also need to purchase the breast coil and associated technology for our MRI unit in Melbourne.

Cost of the MRI breast coil system is $174,000. Each of the three digital mammography units cost $400,000. To provide the maximum impact of our breast cancer services will require support of $1,374,000. The breast cancer services program is an area where your gift, because it provides early detection capability, truly saves lives!