Breast Cancer Treatment Surgeon Knoxville, TN - Dr. Aaron Margulies  FACS
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • Linkedin
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Rss
Passionate. Committed. Your Captain.
  • Home
  • About
    • About Dr. Aaron G. Margulies
    • About Director of Clinical Genetics Services: Imelda G. Margulies MSN, FNP-BC
  • Schedule Appointment
    • Download and Print Patient Forms
      • Dr. Aaron Margulies
        • Breast Care Consultations
        • General Surgery Consultations
      • Imelda Margulies
        • Genetic Counseling and High Risk In Office Consultations
        • Genetic Counseling and High Risk Telehealth Consultations
  • Leave Review
    • Contact
  • Patient Resources
    • Patient Portal
    • Cancer Risk Quiz
    • Dr. Margulies Explains Cancer
    • 5 Questions to ask the Radiologist About Breast Cancer Checklist
    • Hidden Scar Surgery
  • Patient Forms
    • Dr. Aaron Margulies
      • Breast Care Consultations
      • General Surgery Consultations
    • Imelda Margulies
      • Genetic Counseling and High Risk Genetic Counseling and High Risk In Office Consultations Consultations
      • Genetic Counseling and High Risk Telehealth Consultations
  • Cancer Risk Quiz
Search the site...
Home» Breast Cancer Diagnosis » I Want My MRI and I Want it FAST!

I Want My MRI and I Want it FAST!

Posted by Dr. Aaron G. Margulies - August 18, 2014 - Breast Cancer Diagnosis, Breast Cancer Surgery, Breast Cancer Treatment
0

Margulies FAST MRI“Jill, it’s that time of the year again,” teases Bosom Buddy. They remind each other when it’s time for a mammogram.

“But it hurts! I won’t go!,” retorts Jill in her annual custom. “You’re only squeezed for seconds. It won’t hurt that bad,” comes the quick and customary reply.

Jill and Bosom Buddy race off to the Breast Center for their annual exam, praying they don’t have breast cancer.

Mammograms have been proven to save lives. Yes! Mammography is the mainstay of screening, but it is far from perfect as mammography may only identify 50% of breast cancers, especially in dense breasts.

Dense breasts are breasts that appear white, as opposed to black, on mammography. Cancers are also white, so dense or “white” breasts can have their cancers missed by mammography. Ultrasonography is performed in addition to screening mammograms in those breasts that are dense, since ultrasound can identify many of these cancers that cannot be seen on mammography.

But a breast MRI is even better than mammography and ultrasound combined. MRI can find many more tumors and find them when they are smaller.

A breast MRI can also find many lesions that are not cancerous but are benign. However, this cannot always be determined by the MRI and a biopsy is needed to differentiate a cancer from a lesion sometimes. These lesions are called “false positives”, because these are lesions that look suspicious but are benign on biopsy.

The problem with false positives is the cost and the anxiety. We’d rather not pay to biopsy benign (non-cancerous) nodules and we’d rather not cause so much anxiety. But it is better to have a false positive than to miss a cancer.

Breast MRI is costly and therefore, while a good choice to image the breast, MRI is not a good choice to screen the breast for cancer in the general population. High cost for many women equals lots of money. A breast MRI is good to screen for breast cancer in women at high risk for breast cancer as there are far fewer women at high risk and the benefit of finding cancers in these women is less costly treatment.

Today we have another option: the FAST MRI. A recent article and editorial published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology described the technique and the benefit of a FAST MRI.

In short, a traditional breast MRI takes 20-60 minutes. A baseline, or non-contrast set of images is acquired, then contrast is injected via an IV and a few minutes later a set of contrast images is acquired. Finally, in another 10-20 minutes, a final set of delayed images is acquired. This breast MRI is very accurate, but very time consuming and expensive.

A FAST MRI uses only the non-contrast set of images and the first contrast-enhanced set of images. These two image sets are then converted into an MIP image that the radiologist can interpret quickly and accurately.

If the radiologist does not see any abnormalities, then the FAST MRI is negative and you can be 99% certain that no breast cancer is in your breast. If a lesion is identified, then further imaging studies and evaluation can be performed.

The advantage of the FAST MRI is that the cost is cheaper and the negative predictive value is higher. In other words, when a FAST MRI is read as negative, it is significantly less likely to be hiding a breast cancer than a negative mammogram. FAST MRI saves time and saves money.

Fast MRI: more accurate screening for more women.

  • Share
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Print
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
Breast, Breast cancer, Breast cancer screening, Breast MRI, Cancer, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Magnetic resonance imaging, Mammography

Dr. Margulies practices sees patients in West Knoxville at Turkey Creek Medical Center, in Powell just off of Emory Road​ adjacent to North Knoxville Medical Center in Powell, at Jefferson Memorial Hospital and Newport Medical Center.

Dr. Margulies performs surgeries at Tennova’s Turkey Creek Medical Center and North Knoxville Medical Center, at Jefferson Memorial Hospital, at Newport Medical Center and at Parkwest Medical Center.

Learn more about Dr. Margulies here.

Hidden Scar Provider

Click here to learn more about Hidden Scar Surgery.

Schedule an Appointment

If you need to request an appointment, please call (865) 692-1610 and ask for Dr. Aaron Margulies.

Connect with Me

  • (865) 692-1610
  • Contact Us
    • Facebook
    • Linkedin
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    • Youtube

Patient Testimonials

Thanks so much for your help with my cancer, thank God I am well. You are a special person and may God bless you and your staff.
Mary

“I knew from the moment I walked into your office that you, dear man were a blessing. But your kind heart keeps giving and I thank God that our pathways have crossed.”

Elaine

“I find it very comforting to have my surgeon pray with me and for me and call me himself to give reports on my condition. Thank you!”

Mary
During my cancer journey you and Lisa traveled it with me. Words cannot express my appreciation for all that both of you have done. You both have always encouraged, loved and shown compassion with understanding for me.
Rebecca
Your patients are some of the luckiest people in the world. I am so thankful that God brought us together.
Leslie

Recent Articles

  • DCIS Treatment – What Are My Options?
  • What Is Actually Considered “Family History” Or “High Risk” Of Breast Cancer?
  • How Accurate Is Genetic Testing, And When Should You Consider It?
  • How Telemedicine Can Help With Breast Cancer Concerns During COVID-19 
  • What You Need To Know About Surgeries During The COVID-19 Pandemic

Search Articles

Topics

  • Breast Cancer Diagnosis
  • Breast Cancer Research
  • Breast Cancer Surgery
  • Breast Cancer Treatment
  • Cancer Survival
  • Genetic testing
  • Knoxville Community
  • Patient Stories

Resources

  • Abercrombie Radiology
  • American Board of Surgery
  • American College of Surgeons
  • American Society of Breast Surgeons
  • Breast 360
  • Breast Cancer Statistics
  • Breast Cancer Terms
  • Breast Connect
  • Knoxville Comprehensive Breast Center
  • Mastery of Breast Surgery
  • Society of Surgical Oncology
(c) 2020 Dr. Aaron Margulies - Web Design by Baker Labs
  • Home
  • About
  • Schedule Appointment
  • Leave Review
  • Patient Resources
  • Patient Forms
  • Cancer Risk Quiz
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.