This saved my life!

"3-D Mammogram - it saved my life!" - Dr. Diana Hoppe

American Journalist Katie Couric was recently interviewed about her latest breast exam by CNN news, and here is what she said...

“I was like, ‘Uh-oh, what does that mean,’ and she (my Dr.) said, ‘I think there’s something we really need to biopsy and I want to do it today.’ So I thought, ‘Oh, my God! You must be kidding me.’” Couric was stunned by the news, she said. “I found out the next day, she called me, I was pretty stunned. I think those words, ‘It’s cancerous or you have cancer’ do stop you in your tracks,” Couric said. “But she told me it was treatable, we needed to have a plan."

Thankfully, like me, Couric's cancer was detected at an early stage. As many of you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month AND I am a Breast Cancer survivor, being diagnosed with Stage 1 Breast Cancer in 2018.

It’s never good news when the radiologist calls you the night of your mammogram informing you that there is an “abnormality” and “we need to do a bilateral breast ultrasound and possible biopsy”.  Although, this was disheartening news on that day, I now realize that having a 3-D mammogram literally saved my life! 

Let me explain.  3-D mammography or Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT), refers to a type of radiologic imaging using 3-D technology, which is superior to 2-D digital mammography.  Studies have shown that women who have undergone DBT have fewer recalls for additional imaging and better cancer detection as compared to those women who have 2-D mammography.  

The easiest way to understand 3-D vs. 2-D imaging is to consider a book – 2-D technology lets you see only the front and back covers – 3-D lets you see the front and back covers as well as all of the pages in between.  Cool, right?

Get your mammogram done – and make it a 3-D!  If you do NOT believe in mammograms, I encourage you to undergo other ways to evaluate for abnormalities including breast ultrasound and thermography.  

This week thoughts are coming to you from Italy. One of the pillars of taking care of your physical and mental health is getting away and having fun with friends.

Leave any comments or questions for me below! 

- In health and happiness