Who is a candidate for RODEO Breast MRI?
Usually, candidates are women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, or have a suspicious mass, based on results of mammography, sonography or clinical examination. RODEO Breast MRI can be used to help determine if breast conservation surgery (lumpectomy) is the appropriate treatment, or if mastectomy is indicated, based on the amount of cancer demonstrated by the MRI procedure.
Other candidates are women with large tumors (or tumors extending to the skin or chest wall) who may have chemotherapy to reduce the size of their tumor before surgery. This is known as "neoadjuvant chemotherapy." These women would have a RODEO Breast MRI before their first, during chemotherapy treatment and after their last treatment to see if the treatment is working, and if so, how much the tumor has shrunk.
A woman may also be a candidate if she has dense breasts, scar tissue or implants. These factors may prevent mammography from providing adequate or complete information about her breasts.
Does RODEO Breast MRI replace mammography?
Although RODEO Breast MRI may provide information that is not seen on mammography, it is not a replacement for mammography, clinical or self breast exams. Rather, the information from RODEO Breast MRI should be used in addition to other information your doctor has available to make treatment decisions.
Will I have just one or both breasts examined (unilateral or bilateral exam)?
Although many women will be concerned about both breasts, there is a tradeoff in the convenience of only one visit versus greatly improved resolution and image quality by looking at only one breast at a time. As each image obtained represents a very thing segment of tissue, this superior image quality offsets the inconvenience of a second exam by providing the ability to detect small abnormalities, which would be missed if both breasts were studied at the same time.
What if no enhancement is seen after the contrast agent is injected?
The negative predictive value of RODEO Breast MRI is over 95%. This means that if nothing "lights up," or enhances, there is no abnormality in your breast.
Are there disadvantages to RODEO Breast MRI?
Some normal and benign breast tissue (such as fibroadenomas) can sometimes "light up," or enhance. Such false positive results may cause some anxiety for you, and it may be necessary to get a sample of tissue from the questionable area to determine the exact nature of the tissue.
RODEO Breast MRI is a costly procedure, approximately fifteen times that of a mammogram. It is very important for your doctor to check with your insurance company to make sure they will cover the cost of the exam. Generally, if there is a legitimate medical indication, most companies will cover at least a portion of the cost. However, it is very important to make sure of the coverage prior to scheduling an appointment for the procedure.
Learn more about RODEO Breast MRI at UAMS.
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