Licking Memorial Hospital and Licking Memorial Women’s’ Health now offer full-field digital mammography, one of the most advanced technologies available to detect breast cancer, as a part of their breast care services. Image quality with digital mammography provides the potential for significant improvements in breast cancer diagnosis, including a lower radiation dose than screen-film imaging.

Full-field digital mammography has revolutionized mammography by providing a sharper image that increases the amount of diagnostic information available to the radiologist to detect cancers and breast abnormalities. The facility’s digital units have other advanced applications such as automated computer-aided detection (CAD) diagnosis, which will further improve the accuracy and sensitivity in picking up small cancers. Using sophisticated software and artificial intelligence, CAD searches a mammogram and marks suspicious areas in the image, essentially telling the radiologist to take a closer look at these regions. Armed with this additional information, the radiologist can then decide if these areas are significant or warrant further consideration.

Women who are under the age of 50, are pre- or peri-menopausal, or have dense breast tissue benefit by having a digital mammogram because it increases the chances of finding a malignancy, especially invasive cancer. The National Cancer Society recommends annual mammograms beginning at age 40 for all women. However, breast cancer detection should start at an earlier age. Women by age 20 should start monthly breast self-exams. A clinical breast exam should be performed by a physician at least every three years for women in their 20s and 30s. Women over the age of 40 should receive a clinical breast exam once each year in addition to a screening mammogram.

Digital mammography takes an electronic image of the breast and stores it directly into a computer where it can be interpreted and sent to another location for review if necessary. Digital mammography also expedites the patient’s exam time. A technologist will be able to tell the patient while she is still in the room if there is an immediate need for additional views.

Services available at Licking Memorial include screening mammograms, diagnostic mammograms, breast ultrasound, breast biopsy (Stereotactic), and breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Digital mammography services are available Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and one Saturday each month.

For more information about services, please contact the Department of Radiology at (740) 348-4710. To schedule an appointment, call Central Scheduling at (740) 348-4722.

Licking Memorial Hospital has served the medical needs of Licking County residents since it was founded in 1898. The 227-bed facility utilizes more than 150 staff physicians and approximately 1,630 additional clinical and support staff to meet the health care needs of the community. Licking Memorial Hospital is proud to have been named one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals for a ninth year. For more information, visit www.LMHealth.org.