MRI Vs. Mammography:
Health Story

Aired on Superstation WGN
Saturday, April 9 and July 9, 2005
Show 211

Nearly 235,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. It's the second leading cause of death in women. "This mass might not have been found in the recent past," says Dawn Peecoat, breast cancer survivor whose cancer has returned. A doctor is using an MRI to localize the tissue for biopsy. "MRI guided biopsy is part of the emerging technology of the last four to five years," says Dr. Mehra Golshan, surgical oncologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "An MRI is less painful than mammography," says Dawn. "Women at high risk should have MRI screening. Those not at high risk shouldn't," says Dr. Darrell Smith, Director of Breast MRIs at Brigham. "An MRI might pick up other things and lead to an unneeded biopsy. They are not substitutes for mammograms which can pick up micro-calcifications that may be a sign of cancer. However, for guided biopsies, an MRI is very important," says Dr. Golshan.