Method Sensitive at Detecting Breast Cancer - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages Mortality caused by breast cancer is especially high among women between the ages of forty and forty-nine. Even apart from the mortality rates, the emotional and psychological impact of the condition is severe. Fear of the disease and the nature of the treatment to be undertaken add to the negative impact (Breast Cancer Screening For Women Ages 40-49 – NIH Consensus Statement. Medscape General Medicine. 1999)

Early, accurate detection leading to effective and less drastic treatment methods can significantly reduce the trauma associated with breast cancer, resulting in a better prognosis and management of the disease (Taft & Taylor, 2001).

One of the earliest methods of screening women for breast cancer is Mammography. It has been estimated that Mammography was responsible for a 34% percent fall in mortality rate among women, resulting in the method being considered one of the best among the various tools for the detection of breast cancer. It was subsequently discovered that nearly 25% of malignant Breast cancers escaped detection despite Mammography. It was therefore felt that more efficient and sensitive diagnostic tools were needed to detect breast cancer (Taft & Taylor, 2001).

Among the numerous diagnostic tools developed using new technology, Digital Mammography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) offered prospects of better efficacy in the detection of breast cancer. The improvements in diagnostic methods of detecting breast cancer are especially critical for women aged below fifty since they tend to have denser breasts, which impair the capability of the diagnostic tools, particularly in the case of noncalcified breast cancers. The risk of malignancy is at the same time higher in dense breasts, making early detection even more important (Hersh, 2004).

1.2 Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)— New Modality
Magnetic Resonance images are created by recording the signals generated after radiofrequency excitation of hydrogen nuclei (or other elements) in tissue exposed to a strong static magnetic field. The characteristics of these signals vary according to the type of tissue under observation (e.g., fat, muscle, fibrotic tissue, and edema). ...Download file to see next pages Read More