The Breast Clinic offers women education, mammography services, and support. Services also include needle localizations, stereotactic biopsies, ultrasound, and MRI for patients with suspected breast problems.
Mammogram evaluation at Innovis Health occurs onsite with the assistance of a “Second Look” system. This breakthrough technology enhances the radiologist’s interpretation, improving early detection rates by as much as 23 percent.
The Breast Clinic is accredited by the American College of Radiology and the FDA. The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists registers our technologists.
In addition to our Breast Clinic, through our large extended network of clinics we are able to offer mammography services at many of our outreach sites. There is a listing on the right hand side of this page showing the clinics which you can visit for your radiology needs. You can contact any of our clinic locations to find out what extent of services are offered at that clinic. Click on the name of the clinic to read more about that location and get contact information.
The American Cancer Society guidelines for breast cancer
screening include:
- Yearly mammograms are recommended starting at age 40 and continuing for as long as a woman is in good health.
- Clinical breast exam (CBE) should be part of a periodic health exam, about every 3 years for women in their 20s and 30s and every year for women 40 and over.
- Women should know how their breasts normally feel and report any breast change promptly to their health care providers. Breast self-exam (BSE) is an option for women starting in their 20s.
- Women at increased risk (for example, family history, genetic tendency, past breast cancer) should talk with their doctors about the benefits and limitations of starting mammography screening earlier, having additional tests (for example, breast ultrasound or MRI), or having more frequent exams.
Frequently asked questions:
- What is Mammography?
Mammography is a screening tool used to detect breast cancer. Often mammography can detect a cancer before it is detectable by physical exam.
- If I have a breast Problem, what should I do?
Notify your primary care physician, He or she will give you direction as to what steps need to be taken to ensure your needs are met.
- "Why do you have to squeeze my breasts?"
- To hold your breast in place, if there is movement on the mammogram picture, the image is blurry. A clear image is what the radiologist needs to interpret the mammogram.
- To reduce your exposure. The more we compress the breast, the less radiation it takes to penetrate the breast tissue, therefore reducing your exposure. Even though you don’t get a lot of exposure with mammography, it is the technologists’ job to give you the least amount necessary for a good image.
- To press out fibrous tissue in the breast, which enables the radiologist to better view this "thicker" tissue.
- If I have a mammogram do I still need to do monthly Self-Breast Exams (BSE)?
Yes, mammograms in conjunction with SBE and a physician’s clinical exam provide the best possible chance of detecting breast cancer. It is important to find breast cancer early because treatment is most effective if started in the early stages of the disease.
Back to: Women's Clinic