Digital Mammography
Breast cancer will affect an average of one in eight women sometime in their lifetime. It's the second most common cause of cancer related deaths in women, and study after study proves early detection is a vital component in the successful treatment of breast cancer.
Mammograms play a central role in early detection because they can detect changes in the breast that may be early signs of cancer but are too small or subtle to be felt. Digital mammography has greatly enhanced the ability to detect breast cancers at earlier stages. It's an ally in the fight against breast cancer available at St. Mary's Healthcare Center. St. Mary’s is the first health care provider in central South Dakota to feature the state-of-the-art Selenia™ digital mammography system from Hologic™ because we believe it's the best technology available.
Digital mammography is different from conventional mammography in how the image of the breast is acquired and, more importantly, viewed. The radiologist can magnify the images, increase or decrease the contrast and invert the black and white values while reading the images. These features allow the radiologist to focus on areas of concern.
This technology is made possible at St. Mary's through a portion of more than $1.5 million in grant funding from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust for an Electronic Intensive Care (eICU) remote monitoring system and as well as this state of the art digital mammography system. This support allows St. Mary’s Healthcare Center to offer women the latest technology in mammography, in hopes of increasing the number of area women who follow recommendations for regular screenings. Early detection is the key to saving lives.
