Digital Mammography

Campbell County Health is proud to improve women's breast health by offering 3D mammography at Campbell County Memorial Hospital in Gillette, Wyoming.

Digital Mammography is provided in Radiology's women's services area in Campbell County Memorial Hospital. Amenities include private waiting area, relaxing decor, mood lighting, background music, heated spa robes and fresh infused water.

3D vs 2D

CCH suggests using 3D mammography as a first exam and once your breast density has been determined you and your physician should discuss future options between standard 2D and 3D mammography.

Traditional 2D digital mammography takes two-dimensional pictures of the breast. With 3D mammography, the breast is scanned into multiple layers and the radiologists can examine the tissue one thin layer at a time. Overlapping tissue could disguise or hide the fine details that could be signs of early cancer, 3D mammography allows the tissue to be more visible and less likely to be hidden with overlapping tissue.

Doctors agree that early detection is the best defense against breast cancer. Successful treatment and survival rates for breast cancer patients are dramatically affected by early detection of breast cancers. Today, if breast cancer is found early, before it has spread to lymph nodes, the five-year survival rate is almost 100%.

Mammography is safe. Radiation exposure to the breast is very low. The radiation dose for a combined 2D/3D mammography exam is well below the acceptable limits defined by the FDA, and is only a fraction of the level of radiation everyone receives annually from simply being outdoors. There is no evidence that this low level of radiation has any significant affect on the breasts.

Early Detection

Early detection is the most critical issue in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. That's why regular mammograms are so important for all women over 40. Mammography can find cancer when it's most treatable, often one to three years before a woman can feel a lump with the recommended monthly breast self-exam. Although it's 100 times more common in women, men can also develop breast cancer.

A good place to start is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.