OCTOBER IS NATIONAL BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH AND FOR US WOMEN IT'S ALWAYS IMPORTANT
TO TALK ABOUT OUR BREAST HEALTH.
JOINING ME TODAY IS DOCTOR KIMBERLY HUTCHERSON, DIRECTOR OF BREAST IMAGING AND INTERVENTION
AT GWINNET MEDICAL CENTER IN ATLANTA.
DOCTOR, TODAY, WE'RE GOING TO FOCUS ON BREAST BIOPSYS, SPECIFICALLY HOW NEWER TECHNOLOGIES
ARE HELPING ADVANCE AND IMPROVE THIS CRITICAL PROCESS IN THE BATTLE AGAINST BREAST CANCER.
WE ARE SO GLAD YOU'RE HERE TODAY.
THANK YOU.
I WANT TO GET RIGHT TO IT AND JUST START WITH THE BASICS AND EXPLAIN WHAT A BIOPSY IS.
WELL, WHEN A BREAST ABNORMALITY OR A BREAST LUMP IS DETECTED A BIOPSY MAY BE RECOMMENDED.
A BIOPSY IS BASICALLY THE REMOVAL OF BREAST TISSUE FOR PATHOLOGICAL EXAMINATION.
THAT BIOSY IS PERFORMED TO DETERMINE IF THAT AREA OF CONCERN IS A BENIGN OR MALIGNANT PROCESS.
THERE ARE TWO MAIN TYPES OF BIOPSY OPTIONS.
RIGHT.
THE ONE THAT WE'RE GOING TO CONCENTRATE ON TODAY IS THE MOST PREFERRED METHOD, WHICH
IS MINIMALLY INVASIVE BREAST BIOPSY'S.
SEE, ALL OF A SUDDEN BIOPSY'S SCARE ME, BUT YOU'RE SAYING THERE'S A WAY TO DO IT THAT'S
MINIMALLY INVASIVE, I LOVE HEARING THAT.
THAT IS VERY MUCH TRUE.
SO, IN MY BREAST CENTER, WE BASICALLY TRY TO FIND AN ENVIRONMENT OR SUPPLY AN ENVIRONMENT
THAT IS VERY CALMING, RELAXING, SPA LIKE.
THEY'RE LISTENING TO MOOD MUSIC AND, YOU KNOW, LOW LIGHTS AND ALL OF THAT, BUT WHEN I PERFORM
THE PROCEDURE, I REALLY TRY TO MAKE SURE ITS VERY PAINLESS.
LOTS OF LIDOCAINE MEDICATION TP ENSURE THEY FEEL NO DISCOMFORT DURING THE PROCEDURE.
VERY SMALL SKIN INCISION, ABOUT A QUARTER OF AN INCH IN SIZE.
WE PLACE THE NEEDLE USING THE IMAGING GUIDANCE, WHICHEVER MODALITY THEY CHOOSE, WHETHER IT
BE ULTRASOUND, MAMMOGRAM OR BREAST MRI.
THE NEEDLE IS PLACED INSIDE THE BREAST AND WE TAKE THE TISSUE THAT WAY.
THERE IS AN EASY TRANSITION OF THE TISSUE INTO A COLLECTION CHAMBER FOR PATHOLOGICAL
EXAMINATION.
NO STITCHES ARE NEEDED TO CLOSE THAT PARTICULAR WOUND OR...
CAN I WALK OUT WITH A BAND-AID?
BAND-AID, LITTLE SMALL ADHESIVE BANDAGE, GO ALONG ABOUT YOUR NORMAL ACTIVITY PRETTY MUCH
THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
AND HOW IS IT DECIDED THAT A BIOPSY IS NEEDED?
WELL, IT'S REALLY BASED ON THAT IMAGING CHARACTERISTICS FORM WHICHEVER MODALITY I'M UTILIZING, WHETHER
IT BE A MAMMOGRAM, ULTRASOUND OR BREAST MRI.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE INITIALLY PRESENT HER BREAST AND YOU USUALLY PRESENT WITH A MAMMOGRAM.
WE MAY FIND AREAS OF CONCERN ON THERE WHICH WE CALL CALCIFICATIONS.
RIGHT.
SOMETIMES WE SEE LITTLE ROUND WHITE AREAS WHICH COULD BE MASSES, SO WE HAVE TO DO A
DEDICATED BREAST ULTRASOUND TO CLARIFY WHAT THAT PARTICULAR AREA IS.
IT COULD BE A BENIGN CYST, IT COULD BE SOMETHING THAT'S MORE SUSPICIOUS THAT HAS A IRREGULAR
MARGINS OR THE LOCATION OF THAT MAY BE INSIDE OF THAT CYST A SOLID MASS OR INSIDE OF A DUCT,
SO THAT MAY INDICATE A BIOPSY IS RECOMMENDED.
BUT WE SHOULDN'T BE SCARED BECAUSE I THINK SOMETIMES WHEN WOMEN FEEL A LUMP THEY GET
REALLY NERVOUS, BUT A LOT OF TIMES IT'S NOT BAD NEWS.
THIS IS VERY TRUE.
THE MAJORITY OF THESE LUMPS OR PALPABLE AREAS ARE ACTUALLY BENIGN, BUT AS WE KNOW, PATIENTS
PRESENT IN OPPOSITE FASHION.
SOME MAYBE REALLY FRIGHTENED AND GO TO THE EXTREME THAT THEY HAVE BREAST CANCER, WHILE
OTHERS MAY BE LESS ATTENTIVE AND NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE INITIAL EVALUATION OF THE
MAMMOGRAM OR ULTRASOUND, AND SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO NOTIFY YOUR REFERRING PHYSICIANS
OFFICE SO WE CAN SEE YOU AT THE NEAREST BREAST CENTER, EVALUATE YOU WITH DIAGNOSTIC MAMMOGRAM
AND ULTRASOUND, AND REMEMBER, THE MAJORITY OF THESE ARE COMPLETELY NEGATIVE OR BENIGN.
AND THTA'S SUCH GOOD NEWS.
VERY GOOD NEWS.
AND YOU'RE A SURVIVOR OF BREAST CANCER.
I AM A SURVIVOR OF BREAST CANCER.
AND YOU'VE BEEN PERFORMING A MINIMAL INVASIVE BIOPSY FOR 14 YEARS, NOW?
EXACTLY, 14 YEARS IN PRACTICE.
TELL ME ABOUT THAT.
IN MY PRACTICE I HAVE CHOSEN TO DO MINIMALLY INVASIVE BREAST BIOPSY'S AS A DIAGNOSTIC RADIOLOGIST
AND BREAST INTERVENTION RADIOLOGIST.
I CHOOSE TO USE A DEVICE THAT REALLY ALLOWS ME TO GET THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF QUALITY TISSUE
THAT I LIKE TO FORM, THAT I KNOW I'M GETTING A DIAGNOSTIC, ACCURATE BIOPSY, AND I USE A
VACUUMOUS ASSISTED BIOPSY DEVICE.
OKAY.
THE PARTICULAR SYSTEM THAT I USE IS A MAMMOTOME BREAST BIOPSY SYSTEM AND I LIKE THIS PARTICULAR
SYSTEM BECAUSE IT IS AN EASY SYSTEM FOR ME TO USE FOR MY STAFF AS WELL AS THE OTHER PHYSICIANS
THAT MAY JOIN MY PRACTICE.
I HAVE QUALITY OF TISSUE SAMPLES THAT REALLY PROVIDES ME WITH THE DIAGNOSTIC ACCURACY THAT
I NEED AND REALLY MINIMIZING THE TIME, THE COST AND MOBILITY.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE MAIN THING, IT'S REALLY KIND OF LETTING WOMEN KNOW THEIR CHOICES AND
EMPOWERING THEM TO MAKE, HAVE EDUCATION ABOUT THEIR OPTIONS.
WHEN YOU HAVE THE POSSIBILTY OF HAVING A BIOPSY, I KNOW IT'S A FEARFUL PROCESS, BUT YOU REALLY
WANT TO HAVE THOSE OPTIONS AVAILABLE AND KNOW WHAT YOUR RISK AND BENEFITS OF THEIS PROCEDURE
IS AND THEN TALK ABOUT THESE OPTIONS WITH YOUR REFERRING PHYSICIAN SO YOU CHOOSE THE
BEST OPTION FOR YOU.
YOU'RE SUCH AN INSPIRATION, YOU'RE A SURVIVOR YOURSELF.
YES I AM, THANK YOU.
YOU'RE TAKING WOMEN INTO YOUR OFFICE, YOU'RE GIVING US A SPA LIKE ATMOSPHERE AND YOU'RE
SAVING LIVES.
THANK YOU.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB, VISIT MAMMOTOME.COM, THATS MAMMOTOM.COM, OR
BREASTBIOPSY.COM, AND OF COURSE YOU CAN GET SOCIAL WITH US ON FACEBOOK AT BALANCINGACTFANS,
SHARE YOUR PERSONAL THOUGHTS RELATED TO TODAY'S VERY IMPORTANT TOPIC.