Breast MRI

 

If you are confronted with any kind of breast abnormality, early detection is at the forefront of your concerns. That's why we offer our patients the unique advantages of a breast exam using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Breast MRI goes above and beyond conventional breast imaging, often providing solutions to tough, diagnostic problems and identifying breast tumors that other exams would fail to detect. Breast MRI is usually performed when your doctor needs more information than a mammogram, ultrasound or clinical breast exam can provide. In certain situations, such as when a woman has a very high risk of breast cancer, breast MRI may be used as a screening tool for detecting breast cancer.

Why it’s done:

  • You’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer, and your doctor wants to determine the extent of the cancer.
  • Your doctor wants to monitor your opposite breast after you’ve been newly diagnosed or treated for breast cancer in the other breast.
  • You have a suspected leak or rupture of a breast implant.
  • You’re at high risk of breast cancer, defined as a lifetime risk of 20 percent or greater, as calculated by risk tools that take your family history and other factors into consideration.
  • You have a strong family history of breast cancer or ovarian cancer.
  • You have very dense breast tissue, and your prior breast cancer was not detected on mammogram.
  • You have a history of precancerous breast changes, a strong family history of breast cancer and dense breast tissue.


If you are unsure if you are considered high risk, please call our Risk Assessment Program at 561-575-2000.

Breast MRI is most effective when used in addition to a mammogram or another breast-imaging test – not as a replacement for a mammogram. Although it is a very sensitive test, breast MRI can still miss some breast cancers that a mammogram will detect.