Piedmont Fayette now offers digital mammography

The Women’s Imaging Center at Piedmont Fayette Hospital has expanded its breast health services to include Full Field Digital Mammography (FFDM), providing patients with the highest quality of care in the prevention and early detection of breast cancer.

Digital mammography takes less than half the time of traditional film-based exams,” said Debora Coursey-Prah, M.D. of Piedmont Fayette Hospital’s Women’s Imaging Center and board-certified radiologist.  “When the mammogram is performed to evaluate a specific breast problem, the images can be reviewed while the patient is in the examination room, enabling them to make immediate decisions regarding the need for additional investigation.”

FFDM uses computers and specially designed digital detectors to produce an image that can be displayed on a high-resolution computer monitor, which can then be transmitted and stored just like computer files.  Similar to conventional screen film mammograms, digital mammography uses compression and x-rays to create clear images of the inside of the breast. However, unlike film-based mammography digital mammograms produce images in a matter of seconds and can be manipulated. The physician can adjust brightness, contrast and magnify specific areas of interest such as microcalcifications, which are tiny deposits of calcium in the breast that appear as “spots” on the images.

“This is the latest in mammographic detector technology, and we are pleased to bring it to our community,” said Darrell Cutts, president and CEO Piedmont Fayette Hospital. “From a patient’s perspective, this will feel identical to a conventional screening mammogram, but now the patient will have shorter exam times and a reduced need for repeat exams.  In certain patients this has been shown to be somewhat more accurate than traditional film base mammography”

Even though there has been a decline in the rate of deaths from breast cancer in recent years, it is still the second leading cause of cancer death in women.  Although no screening test is 100% effective, the combination of routine self breast-exam, annual clinical breast exam, and mammography have been shown to be a very effective means of screening for breast disease.   When detected early, the chance for successful treatment is nearly 100 percent. To schedule a mammogram please contact the Women’s Imaging Center at Piedmont Fayette Hospital at 770-719-7007.

The Women’s Imaging Center at Piedmont Fayette Hospital along with the Piedmont Newnan Hospital Women’s Diagnostic Center and the Doris Shaheen Breast Health Center at Piedmont Hospital will continue to follow the guidelines of the American Cancer Society, the American College of Radiology, and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology with respect to screening women in the 40-50 age bracket.

Piedmont Fayette Hospital plans to further enhance cancer patients’ experiences with its new comprehensive cancer center set to open in the spring which will bring a host of oncology services together. For more information about breast cancer prevention and detection, as well as cancer services available at Piedmont Fayette Hospital, visit fayettehospital.org.