San Angelo Community Medical Center Invests $3 million to Improve Patient Care

San Angelo Community Medical Center (SACMC) spends $3 million to bring the most advance technology available to West Texas. Currently the technology is not available everywhere and many woman must travel to Dallas or Houston for a breast MRI.

Breast MRI uses Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to look specifically at the breast. It is a non-invasive procedure to determine what the inside of the breast looks like without having to do surgery or flatten the breast (as in a mammogram). Each exam produces hundreds of images of the breast, cross-sectional in all three directions (side-to-side, top-to-bottom, front-to-back). No radioactivity is involved, and the technique is believed to have no health hazards in general.  For MRI of the breast, the patient lies on her stomach with both breasts freely into a cushioned recess containing the signal receiver (also known as the breast coil). The patient will be asked to lie still for five to15 minutes at a time while the computer acquires the images; the total examination is made up of several scans.

“San Angelo Community Medical Center knows this service is important to women – it is a better diagnostic tool in pinpointing the location of a cancerous breast tumor and it provides early detection for women at risk,” said Ann Peterson, Director of Imaging Services at SACMC.

SACMC’s breast MRI is more sensitive than a mammogram and provides a better opportunity to find previously undetectable breast cancers. “The MRI is a much more sensitive imaging tool for the detection of breast cancer, more than mammography or ultrasound,” Peterson said. “Women could have a negative mammogram, but because of their family history a MRI is indicated.

According to new guidelines published by the American Cancer Society, a woman with an especially high risk of developing breast cancer should have a breast MRI yearly along with their mammogram.

Use of the breast MRI is not only useful in making an early diagnosis; it is also helpful after a diagnosis has been made.  Breast cancer is easier to treat when found quickly.

The use of the breast MRI is not indicated for all women and it does not take the place of a mammogram, clinical exam or self-exam. All women should follow American Cancer Society guidelines for detecting breast cancer.

All these measures are important to early detection, which is critical to breast cancer treatment. “If someone I loved was fighting breast cancer, I would demand this imaging,” Peterson said.