EIRMC Imaging Center offers 3D mammography

Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center’s Imaging Center has become the first provider in southeast Idaho offering new 3D mammography.

This new technology detects breast cancer earlier and more accurately, which is important when you consider that breast cancer is 99 percent curable when detected early. One in eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.

In 2D mammography, the complexities of breast tissue are reduced to a flat image. In contrast, 3D mammography technology takes many images of the breast, layer by layer, increasing accuracy and detection, and reducing false positives significantly. In fact, 3D mammography detects 41 percent  more invasive breast cancers and reduces false positives up to 40 percent. That means less stress for women with nothing to worry about, and faster treatment for women when it matters.

Health insurance covers an annual screening mammogram each year for women 40 and over. There is no additional cost at EIRMC for a 3D mammogram. Additionally, EIRMC does not require a doctor’s referral for a screening mammogram.

The American College of Radiology suggests that women should have a mammogram each year, beginning at age 40.