New Device Could Reduce Breast Cancer Fear Time

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http://news./s/wesh/20060519/lo_wesh/9246852

New Device Could Reduce Breast Cancer Fear Time

Fri May 19, 5:28 PM ET

There is a new device that can drastically reduce the

fear time for women who may have breast cancer.

The new scanner is giving women their diagnosis more

quickly than ever, WESH 2 News reported.

The days after feeling a lump or having a suspicious

mammogram can be terrifying for a woman. She often

faces a battery of sometimes painful tests to

determine if the mass is, indeed, cancer.

Now, a local doctor is using a new, virtually painless

tool that speeds up the diagnostic process and, for

some women, eliminates the need for any more testing

altogether.

" The mammogram showed an area that was suspicious, "

breast cancer survivor Edy said.

She did not want to go through an agonizing wait to

find out if she had breast cancer.

" Had I waited to go see a surgeon, then I would have

been going through the C.T. and M.R.I. and everything

else I had to go through that took two or three weeks

to get accomplished, " she said.

Instead, Edy went to the Breast Health Institute in

Maitland where Dr. Ralph Tullo used the new device,

called a gamma camera, to check out her breast mass.

Tullo injected tracers into that work like

homing pigeons. The tracers home in only on breast

cancer cells, giving radiologists a clear look at any

cancer that may be in the breast. It confirmed that

she did have breast cancer.

" It just helped in terms of being able to get a faster

diagnosis of what was going on, and to make the

decision that a needle biopsy was what needed to be

done next, " Tullo said. The gamma scan works

especially well for younger women with very dense

breasts, or women with breast implants, like Keli

.

" You don't have to put any needles around implants, "

said.

In her case, the gamma scan was good news. It showed

that a nodule in her breast was not cancer, meaning

she would not have to go through anymore testing.

" This for me, is very exciting, " said.

said the procedure was painless and a lot less

scary than having to go through a needle biopsy.

" I was relieved, very relieved, " she said.

Some doctors still prefer M.R.I.'s because the scan is

much cheaper. It is not 100 percent accurate, but it

helps narrow down which patients need followups like

needle biopsies.