Breast Cancer| FNA Less Painful Screening but Is it Reliable?

Breast cancer treatment success is heavily dependent upon early detection. Medical professionals recommend routine screening for women to determine if breast cancer is present. According to a recent article one procedure is being offered mostly because it is virtually painless. Women who are diagnosed with breast cancer early have a 95% chance of living at least five years after their diagnosis and it is estimated that early breast cancer diagnosis could save over 400,000 lives globally according to the World Health Organization.

Breast Cancer Screening Recommendations

Fine needle aspiration or FNA is currently the least invasive technique to biopsy breast lumps or masses. The procedure is only about as painful as a blood test. The doctor retrieves enough cell tissue using a tiny needle to make a microscopic analysis. FNAs are less painful, less costly to perform, and result in less complications for the patients, making results available much quicker than current traditional core or open biopsies. But the problem is FNA’s are currently less reliable in producing a conclusive breast cancer diagnosis then the more painful and more invasive techniques. There is a push to make FNAs more reliable by analyzing results through computers equipped with artificial intelligence thus a high degree of accuracy. Due to expansive improvement in technology, cloud computing allows doctors to use the Internet by sharing information and managing data to improve diagnostic tools. The theory is that using artificial intelligence it will reduce the margin of error greatly.

Breast Cancer Reconstruction at Newport Plastic Surgery

Dr. Seify informs his cosmetic breast surgery patients, including those having breast augmentation, breast lift, or breast redction that breast surgery does not change the recommendation for routine breast cancer screening. Patients are advised to perform monthly breast self-exams as well as begin annual screening mammograms as recommended by their primary care physician. As new technology and methods become available for breast cancer detection it is imperative that patients are proactive and research new methods with cautious optimism. The accuracy of testing is important and if patients are doubtful of the accuracy of a specific test, it is best to ask their primary care physician for more information.