Considering that the American Cancer Society currently recommends that all women 45 and older have a mammogram every year, it’s worth knowing where to go for these and other imaging tests. Imaging also encompasses procedures such as MRI, ultrasound and bone density testing, and another doctor usually refers patients to radiologists for one of these tests. Many large hospitals have imaging centers, but there are also numerous standalone practices in Westchester that offer a high level of comfort and attention for patients. Three Westchester-based radiologists, Marjorie Rosenblatt, M.D., and Rosalyn Kutcher, M.D., of the White Plains Hospital Women’s Imaging Center at Rye Brook and Gail A. Calamari, M.D., of Rye Radiology shared some insight with Westchester Family about mammography and beyond.
What are the most common imaging tests?
“Imaging comes in basically two flavors: number one is screening for disease and the other is doing diagnostic evaluations on patients who have symptoms,” says Calamari. For healthy women over about 40, screening for disease means yearly mammograms to check for breast cancer. Some women may also benefit from 3D mammography, a more precise procedure offered at Rye Radiology for women who have dense breasts, which can make it hard for a regular mammogram to detect cancer. Breast ultrasound is an additional option, one that Rosenblatt says is “not a replacement, but we would use ultrasound if women have dense breasts. The sensitivity of the mammogram is reduced and ultrasound is very helpful in that situation. Or we would do it as a problem solver if we’re seeing an abnormality on the mammogram that we want to characterize further.”
What if an abnormality is found during a mammogram?
At both Rye Radiology and White Plains Hospital Women’s Imaging Center, patients can expect to get the results of their mammogram before they walk out the door, which is not always the norm. If an abnormality appears, both offices will schedule a biopsy to test for cancer right in the office. “With mammography screening, when it’s done at the hospital it is done in a very time efficient fashion. They have a woman come in, they do their mammogram; they go home. Then the radiologist reads the mammography and the patient usually receives a letter in the mail in several days telling them their mammogram was normal or abnormal and they need to return. In our facility, and many other women’s imaging outpatient facilities, the mammography gets read immediately by the radiologist,” says Calamari. “If anything additional needs to be done the patient is told right then and there. In our practice we go over the results with the patients ourselves. The doctors review the results with the patient and we discuss any additional [procedures] that need to be done. We talk to the patient if they need to have a biopsy.”
And although White Plains Hospital Imaging Center at Rye Brook is part of a larger hospital facility, it is also an outpatient location and shares a similar philosophy with Rye Radiology. “We run it like a boutique practice,” says Kutcher, whose practice also gives patients their results on the spot. “One thing that attracts people to our office is that we do real-time results. So if you come in for a mammogram here, or breast ultrasound or any other kind of ultrasound, you will see a physician and get your results before you leave, which is something that really attracts people compared to other offices,” Rosenblatt explains.
What are some other imaging tests?
MRI and ultrasound are commonly used to test for a variety of conditions, with breast MRI often serving as a preventative measure for women who are at high risk for breast cancer, meaning those with a family history of the disease or those who have tested positive for the BRCA gene, a mutation that puts women at higher risk for breast and ovarian cancer. Bone density testing is another common procedure for post-menopausal women or those at risk for osteoporosis.
Rachel Wallace is a freelance writer and Westchester resident.
