It's a piece of equipment that gives women a significantly better chance of detecting breast cancer: the 3D mammogram or digital breast tomosynthesis.
According to a large Swedish study, the Malmo study involving 15,000 women screened over a five-year period, using the same tomosynthesis machines as those at Mercy Radiology, breast cancer was detected 34 per cent more than traditional 2D mammography.
Dr Sugania Reddy, lead radiologist for breast imaging at Mercy Radiology, says the new detection technology is so effective that, as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Mercy Radiology will be supporting women by offering $50 off tomosynthesis.
The cash offer is necessary, she says, as there is a charge of about $100 which is not covered by certain health insurers for screening "and we want to make sure that as many women as possible can take advantage of this beneficial new technology".
The difference between 2D and 3D mammogram technology is compelling as while 2D mammograms still find many breast cancers, using tomosynthesis over the last few years at Mercy Radiology has allowed us to detect some breast cancers that could only be seen on 3D tomosynthesis, says Reddy. The 2D mammogram typically produces four images (two for each breast). Tomosynthesis produces multiple images of the breast depending on the size of the breast (somewhere between 60-80 images), scanning at a much more detailed level to build up 3D representations.
"There's another big difference," says Reddy, "in that the 2D images are prone to overlapping of a breast cancer by normal breast tissue."
On a 2D mammogram, the fatty tissue of the breast appears dark and fibro-glandular tissue appears white. Unfortunately, most cancers are also white and occur in the fibro-glandular tissue – meaning they are much harder to detect. Tomosynthesis prevents this overlap so that the cancer can be seen separately from the normal breast tissue.
A further benefit is that 3D technology also reduces patients' recall rates. 2D technology can sometimes cause normal breast tissue on the mammogram to look like cancer – meaning patients have to be recalled for further examination. Tomosynthesis reduces that, causing much less anxiety than recalling a patient for extra views to confirm that nothing is wrong.
However, even the 2D imaging technology has done a real job, as radio's Coast Days host Lorna Subritzky can attest. In a promise to a friend who lost her life to breast cancer in 2015, Subritzky promised to get a mammogram – a promise that pretty much saved her life as it detected cancer in her too.
Because the cancer was caught early, it was 100 per cent successful: "In December, I will be five years cancer-free," she explains. "I was so incredibly lucky I found it in time."
That was long before the new 3D technology became available but, even then, it was saving lives. Mercy Radiology is working with Subritzky, getting behind Breast Cancer Awareness month in October by emphasising the theme Book For Life (meaning book for a mammogram appointment).
Reddy says regular mammography screening contributes to a 35 per cent reduction in breast cancer death rates, making check-ups all the more important.
Breast cancer is the leading form of cancer among women – and it kills. Every year over 3000 are diagnosed with breast cancer, primarily women over 45. Over 600 die from the disease every year. When diagnosed early as part of a regular mammogram programme, the 10-year survival rate is 92 per cent.
"In New Zealand, 90-95 per cent of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history. So booking in for an annual mammography is essential from the age of 40. After 55, if there are no significant risk factors, a two-yearly mammogram can be done," Reddy says. "We also recommend annual breast examinations by a GP."
Subritzky was no stranger to breast cancer. It had been a topic of conversation in her family – her paternal grandmother had died of the disease when she was just 41 and Subritzky had her own scares, the first in her mid-20s, again in her 40s. But when she turned 45, she hadn't gone on the mammography register – too busy at work, too busy being a mum: "Mothers are very good at putting other people first and not looking after themselves," she says.
That's why Subritzky (now an ambassador for the NZ Breast Cancer Foundation) is so passionate about women having regular mammograms: "They really do save lives. If cancer is caught early, there is absolutely no reason why it can't be cured."
There may be a level of wariness when it comes to mammograms – they can seem embarrassing and some worry about them being painful. Reddy says although tomosynthesis still involves breast compression, many women find it more comfortable than the traditional mammography approach.
Subritzky says: "I don't find them uncomfortable and, more importantly, they can save your life. If you don't do it for yourselves, think of your partner and children."
She urges all women over 40 to have regular (preferably yearly) breast checks: "You may have to pay for them [women over 45 can have free mammograms every two years under the breast screening programme] but the NZ Breast Cancer Foundation recommends yearly mammograms.
"And what is that cost when compared to what can happen if cancer isn't found early?"
For more information: radiology.co.nz