Women for Women

What is a gammagram?

A gammagram, formally known as breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI), is a new tool that can help identify cancerous breast tissue undetected by mammography. By operating on a cellular or molecular level, BSGI is not affected by tissue density and can help detect cancers at very early stages and allow for optimal intervention and treatment. BSGI technology is particularly useful in serving as a complementary tool for radiologists and breast cancer specialists to detect breast cancer in women with difficult-to-read mammograms, such as those with dense breast tissue, breast implants or scar tissue from previous breast surgery.

Why is a fund needed for the testing?

As a non-profit hospital, Medcenter One is committed to providing services for patients, regardless of their ability to pay. However, each gammagram costs $600 for supplies and technical services. It is a small price to pay for the immediate diagnosis and peace of mind the service can provide, but an overwhelming expense for an underinsured woman to pay, and accumulatively, too much for a hospital to absorb.

All Women for Women campaign contributions will be used to guarantee that every woman, regardless of her ability to pay, may receive this life-saving test.

Are there other funding sources that would pay for the service?

Because BSGI is such a new service, alternative funding sources for health services, such as Women’s Way, which helps pay for mammograms, do not yet pay for BSGI testing. As with most federally-funded programs, approval for this innovative detection service will likely be delayed until the test is more widely used.

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How many women endure the "wait and see" breast cancer protocol?

Each year, thousands of women are informed that their mammogram revealed slight change that is indeterminate but not obviously a site for possible biopsy and must wait the standard six months to see if anything more definite for cancer has developed in the interim. For most women, the follow-up mammogram finds no new growth, and despite the six months of varying levels of anxiety, they can breathe a sigh of relief. For those who do have cancer, the tumor has, unfortunately, been given a six-month head start. With a gammagram, women whose mammograms detect something inconclusive but warranting follow-up in six months will instead have conclusive results immediately. So, for most women, the test delivers immediate peace of mind. And for those whose gammagrams detect cancer, treatment can begin immediately.

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Who will most benefit from a gammagram?

Women who have dense breast tissue are at a higher risk for breast cancer than those who do not. Unfortunately, mammography is less likely to detect cancer in dense-breasted women because of the nature of the image—it appears cloudy and is difficult to conclusively identify cancer. And thus, ironically, the women who have the greatest risk for breast cancer are helped the least by mammography. For these women, a gammagram is the perfect innovation to accurately determine a cancer diagnosis.

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How much does a gammagram cost?

The tracer and imaging services cost about $600. Because a mammogram only costs about $100, continuing to use this technology as a front-line screening device makes sense. But for women at high risk for breast cancer, the financial investment in catching breast cancer in an early stage is money well spent. For a negative reading, a gammagram gives a woman priceless peace of mind.

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