Transcription:
Breast Screening and Breast Cancer Awareness

Introduction: Riverside Healthcare puts the health and wellness information you need, Well Within Reach.

Alyssa Diaz: Hello listeners, and welcome to the Well Within Reach Podcast. I'm your host Alyssa Diaz. And today we're going to be talking about breast cancer, screenings and awareness with one of Riverside's radiologists, Dr. Ravi Ramakrishna. Dr. Ramakrishna. Thank you for joining us on the podcast today. And welcome. Thank you for having me. Well, we'll start with a little bit of introduction to you and tell us a little bit about your role as a radiologist and a little bit about your background and training.

Dr. Ramakrishna: I am originally from Kankakee. I grew up here, was raised here, went to school in Iowa and did my residency in radiology, in Peoria at the University of Illinois. And I did subspecialty training specifically in breast imaging and Peoria at University of Illinois as well.

Host: And you've been with Riverside for quite a few years now.

Dr. Ramakrishna: I had previously worked at Riverside in a few different capacities, so I was very excited to come back in a new role as a radiologist. And I've been with Riverside now for about six years.

Host: Great, thanks again for joining us on the podcast, I will start in with our topic on breast cancer, screenings and awareness, which is something you see every day, and something that you're helping our patients with. I was reading some statistics that say one in eight women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime, which equates to about a 12% lifetime risk. But we're seeing with increased awareness and early detection and new and innovative treatments that survival rates continue to rise.

Dr. Ramakrishna: That's absolutely correct. The woman's lifetime risk of developing breast cancer is one in eight and really the best tool that we have to catch those women who will develop breast cancer is through screening and early detection, particularly with mammograms.

Host: Good. And so screening exams are a large part of the increase in those survival rates. So let's talk a little bit more about mammograms and the recommendations and guidelines around them.

Dr. Ramakrishna: That's a very important topic. What we need to remember specifically is that while treatments have gotten better over the last two decades, therapies, medications, the real benefit or the importance of reducing the risk of dying of breast cancer has come through early detection and screening. Particularly through mammograms and mammography is the mainstay or gold standard for detecting breast cancer and women. And it's really the tool that we have the most data about that we know it will reduce the risk of dying from breast cancer and the guidelines that are available right now. There's many different guidelines out there, depending on what society you look at. But it's important to remember at the end of the day, they all agree that the most benefit from mammography or screening mammograms is starting yearly screening beginning at age 40. That we know reduces the risk, the greatest, and it saves the most lives.

Host: We're finding that cancer earlier, and hopefully everybody's keeping that consistent annual schedule and continuing those mammograms, even if you're getting good scans.

Dr. Ramakrishna: Absolutely. That's why we recommend those yearly exams is because we never know which one of those years something might change. And even if it's a minor change, we want to find that a know what it is, and if it is something abnormal, get that taken care of

Host: Absolutely. And Riverside has 3D mammography available. So we talk a little bit about the tomosynthesis process?

Dr. Ramakrishna: Yeah. Tomosynthesis is newer technology that has come into widespread use around the United States. And Riverside was fortunate to really offer this technology earlier for our patients. So with a 2D mammogram women will get two views of each breast, and it allows us to visualize the most tissue and see all the areas where an abnormality could occur.

With 3D mammography, an additional set of specialized images are obtained and it's performed at the same time as a mammogram and women really won't notice a whole lot of difference when the images are being taken. But for the radiologist, they provide a great amount of additional information, particularly it allows us to see into the breast tissue with more accuracy, it will pull out abnormalities. And in some women, particularly women with denser or fibrous breasts, it can actually separate those tissues and allow us to see areas that we may not always be able to see with a traditional or 2D mammogram. And that's offered as a standard for all women who have mammograms at Riverside.

Host: Yeah. And it's a reassuring piece of mind for patients to know that technology is available all the time for everybody moving on. Dr. Ramakrishna, what are some things to keep in mind before a woman receives a mammogram?

Dr. Ramakrishna: That's an important thing. There are only a few minor things that we tell women. The first that I tell women is that it's never too late to get that first mammogram. We have a environment of no shame in the mammography department. So if you've skipped a few years or if you just haven't come in for that first mammogram, it's never too late. The considerations for women when they do come in for their mammogram are a few minor ones. Mainly we just discourage wearing lotions, powders or deodorants can sometimes that can cause artifact or make the mammogram more difficult to interpret. But that is not something that should stop you from coming in. Just let your technologists know they can wipe that off and still perform your exam safely. The other thing which is out there now is caffeine intake. A lot of women get information or recommendations that they should stop drinking caffeine within 24 hours of their mammogram. And over the last few years, we really don't have a lot of good data that says it makes your mammogram less uncomfortable. The vast majority of women experience very minimal discomfort during their mammogram. We do recognize that mammograms can sometimes be painful, but caffeine intake or stopping it within 24 hours, doesn't always help that. Stopping caffeine intake for your mammogram is a personal choice. We don't recommend that necessary.

Host: I'm sure that a lot of coffee lovers are really happy to hear that update. And what are some of their imaging modalities that are offered? For example, let's talk about ultrasound.

Dr. Ramakrishna: Ultrasound is another very important tool that we have. When we evaluate findings in the breast and ultrasound up until now has really been a great tool to give us more information. It is a focused exam. So when we see something on a mammogram, sometimes we're not really sure what that area is. If it's a change or if it's something that we need to do further testing for like a biopsy. Ultrasound looks at the breast tissue in a different way. It gives us more information. It does not use radiation, and it can look into certain tissues, particularly dense or fibrous breast tissues deeper than mammography can. And allows us to say if a finding that we saw on the mammogram is something benign or nothing to worry about or something that requires further attention like a biopsy or sometimes monitoring. What's also good to know about ultrasound isn't that in the last few years, ultrasound has started to become a secondary screening tool or a supplement to mammogram in women who have dense or fibrous breasts. They've recognized that technology is important now in a specific population of women who have dense breasts who have a slightly increased risk of developing breast cancer. So adding on an ultrasound exam around the time of their mammogram can be beneficial. So ultrasound really is a very important tool for us to both problem solve and get more information, but also is becoming a very useful screening tool.

Host: And specialized imaging studies like MRI are also used in some instances, correct?

Dr. Ramakrishna: Correct. MRI's a completely different technology than both mammogram and ultrasound. And what's unique about MRI is that it looks at the breast tissue in a completely different way than those two modalities. It looks at both breasts at the same time, and it looks at the tissues around them. Really MRI is an important tool for another population of women who are at an increased risk, particularly women who have a greater than 20% lifetime risk of breast cancer and MRIs an important screening tool in that population of women. Also, MRI can be used as a problem solving tool. And sometimes it's used as a tool for treatment planning or monitoring therapy in women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Host: And all of these imaging modalities are part of Riverside's comprehensive breast center. And really our breast center provides support to patients along their journey, whether it's regular screenings or even a cancer diagnosis. Dr. Ramakrishna, what are some of the highlights of Riverside's breast center that patients should know about?

Dr. Ramakrishna: What's important to know is that Riverside has the latest technology for detecting breast cancers. Our staff in our breast center and screening locations are extremely talented, compassionate, and they're really dedicated to helping women understand the importance of screening for breast cancer, answering their questions. And if there are findings which require further attention or evaluation, helping them work through that, understand what the testing means so that they can stay healthy. As far as patients who do get a diagnosis of breast cancer or need additional testing. It's also important for patients to know that Riverside has a incredible dedicated team of physicians and healthcare providers who all work together to make sure that patients receive really the best care and using the most current treatment methods and information that's out there

Host: I'm here with Dr. Ravi Ramakrishna from the Riverside Breast Center, talking about breast cancer screenings and awareness. Dr. Ravi, is there anything else resource wise that you'd like to add to our listeners?

Dr. Ramakrishna: Patients can get great information at Riverside's website. If patients do have specific questions about their breast health, questions about screening, they can contact the Riverside breast center. We have specialized staff that can answer their question.

Host: Thank you for joining us on the podcast today, for information on this topic and more visit Riversidehealthcare.org.