Under new legislation, women in Colorado are seeing changes around breast health services. Colorado is one of several states with laws stating that health plans must cover comprehensive breast imaging, ensuring women have equitable access to supplemental breast screening.
That additional screening includes Automated Breast Ultrasound, or "ABUS," a powerful breast cancer screening tool for women with dense breast tissue.
Health Images at Lakewood is rolling out the new ABUS technology for women like Julie Dixon, who's among the 50% of all women who have dense breast tissue. Dixon is celebrating seven years cancer free thanks to getting diagnosed early.
"When I turned 40, my doc had written a script for me to get my baseline mammogram, so I had gone in thinking nothing of it. I went in, had an ultrasound. That was a Monday. The radiologist didn't like what she saw, so Friday, I went in had a biopsy and the following Monday I found out I had stage-one breast cancer," she said. "I also did genetic testing, and I don't carry any of the genes for breast cancer. I was terrified. I thought I was going to die. There's a negative stigma attached to cancer, and it almost feels like a death sentence."
One-third of cancer in patients with dense breasts are unseen with mammography alone. That's why Dr. Hilarie Gutierrez says these screenings are critical.
"Dense breast tissue is white on a mammogram, but cancers are also white on a mammogram, so it can make it more difficult for us to see breast cancer," Gutierrez said. "ABUS allows us to look through the breast with ultrasound instead of typical mammography, it uses X-ray. It's a great addition to our tools."
Dixon says the new imaging will be a game-changer for women with dense breast tissue. "It will be easy for women to schedule these appointments and have screening done."
"Early detection is key," emphasized Gutierrez. "Finding the cancer early so that the treatment is the smallest treatment possible and the patient has the best prognosis."
"I am so grateful that I didn't wait. Had I waited, it could have gone to my lymph nodes," Dixon added.
Patients are encouraged to speak with their healthcare providers about their breast density and whether ABUS might be right for them. To learn more about booking an appointment through Health Images, click here: https://www.healthimages.com