Diagnostic Services

Obtaining the Results of Your Mammogram

The Magee-Womens Breast Cancer Program of UPMC Cancer Centers uses a variety of tests and procedures to diagnose breast cancer, including:

Mammography

Mammography is one of the best ways to screen for breast cancer. It can find breast cancer that is too small for you or your health care provider to feel. Because of the higher quality of its images, digital mammography is often used at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC and all of the Magee Womencare Centers.

A screening mammogram is performed if you have no symptoms of breast disease.

A diagnostic mammogram is performed if you have:

  • signs or symptoms of breast problems- lumps, pain, a change in skin color or texture, change in size or shape of the breast, nipple discharge or inversion
  • a personal history of breast cancer
  • a personal history of benign breast disease diagnosed by biopsya previous suspicious breast mass or lump
  • large, augmented or implanted breasts that are difficult to examine

To request a mammogram appointment, call 412-641-4700 or 800-649-4077 (toll-free) to schedule a mammogram at any of our Womancare Centers. You will be asked to choose a Womancare Center where you would like to schedule your mammography appointment. View a list of our locations.

Appointment availability varies for each location. If you have specific time and day appointment requirements, please allow at least four weeks advance notice to enable us to accommodate your request. Read more about obtaining the results of your mammogram.

Mammography Voucher Program

This program offers free mammograms and follow-up diagnostic services to medically underinsured and uninsured women in 30 counties of Western and Central Pennsylvania. To read more about the voucher program visit the mammogram voucher site at http://www.mammogramvoucher.org

Computed Aided Detection (CAD)

Computed aided detection offers an added benefit to mammography in the detection of early breast cancer. Using a software program specifically designed to identify clusters of bright spots that are suggestive of microcalcifications and patterns suggestive of tissue masses or distortions, CAD is a technology used after you have had a mammography. The films from your mammogram are loaded into the CAD computer system and processed to identify and mark regions that have characteristics of cancer. The radiologist examines the CAD output and the original mammogram to make his or her final interpretation.

Digital Mammography

Digital mammography is a diagnostic tool that produces breast images. While it uses x-rays, the same technology used to obtain traditional mammograms, the receptor uses a phosphor plate rather than film to receive the information. This enables breast images to be viewed electronically through a computer rather than on x-ray film, as in traditional mammography.

The image can be altered to enhance the viewing of structures in the breast. It is hopeful that this technology will offer a higher degree of accuracy in identifying tumors and other breast abnormalities. This is particularly important when dense breast tissue can obscure tumors, as in younger women, women who have had radiation, or women who have had hormone replacement therapy. .

Ductoscopy

Ductoscopy is a minimally invasive technique which uses a small camera inserted through the nipple into the milk ducts. With this procedure, physicians can look for cancerous or precancerous conditions in the milk ducts, where breast cancer usually begins.

Minimally Invasive Breast Biopsy

Image-guided needle biopsies have become a common procedure for diagnosing breast disease. Having a biopsy may be a frightening experience, however, the majority of breast biopsies do not reveal cancer. Needle biopsies have greatly contributed to early detection of breast cancer, offering women more effective treatment options and a chance of complete recovery.

A needle biopsy is generally performed after a mammogram or breast ultrasound shows a suspicious area in the breast tissue. The equipment used to guide the needle device to the suspicious area is determined by the radiologist based on the image characteristics and location of the lesion. Generally, a needle biopsy is performed using special needle devices and ultrasound or stereotactic x-ray equipment to precisely locate the lesion. Tissue samples are removed and examined by a pathologist with a microscope. Removing and examining the tissue is the only reliable way to diagnose breast cancer.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

MRI is a sophisticated technology that uses a computer, magnetic field, and radio waves, instead of x-rays, to produce images of the soft tissues in the body. MRI has been widely used for decades and has proven to be a safe technology providing information that may lead to the early diagnosis and treatment of disease.

MRI of the breasts, called MRM or Magnetic Resonance Mammography, is emerging as a new technique in the evaluation of breast disease. Preliminary investigations have shown that breast MRI, when used in conjunction with conventional x-ray mammography, can provide valuable information for the detection and characterization of breast disease. MRI will not replace mammography, as it is a different imaging technique that provides additional information. Nationally recognized breast centers currently perform breast MRI for a number of reasons including:

  • diagnosis of breast implant rupture
  • surgical planning
  • staging and cancer treatment planning
  • post-surgery and post-radiation follow-up
  • monitoring of high-risk patients with a known or suspected genetic mutation alternative

Sentinel Node Biopsy

Sentinel node biopsy is a minimally invasive technique used to determine if cancer cells have spread from the tumor in the breast to the lymph nodes. If the biopsy shows no cancer cells, then no further surgery is performed on the lymph nodes. If the biopsy does show cancer cells, then a full axillary lymph node dissection is performed.

Ultrasound

A breast ultrasound, also called ultrasound scanning or sonography, produces a picture of the internal structures of the breast using high-frequency sound waves.