Local Centegra Center First in Region to Offer 3-D Mammography

The Centegra Gavers Breast Center now offers enhanced 3-D screening mammography called tomosynthesis in addition to the advanced mammography already offered at Centegra Health System.

The center, located at 360 N. Terra Cotta Road in Crystal Lake, is the first in the region to offer this technology, according to a Centregra press release.

The Centegra Health System Foundation funded the purchase of the equipment with donations from the community, including a lead gift from the Centegra Hospital-Woodstock Auxiliary.

Ideal for women with dense breasts, this new technology captures multiple images (slices) of the breast at different angles, allowing radiologists to examine each one-millimeter slice at a time, providing a 3-D reconstruction.

The enriched view helps healthcare providers see if anything of concern is hiding behind overlapping tissue, providing women a greater peace of mind, according to the press release.

“3-D mammography will benefit women because it allows us to examine breast tissue in greater detail than with standard mammography, enabling us to detect small cancers even earlier,” said Dr. Elissa Brebach, section chief of mammography and an independent board-certified radiologist at the Centegra Gavers Breast Center, in a press release. “It also decreases the number of patients who need to return for additional views and unnecessary biopsies.”

Lynn Griesmaier, certified breast health navigator for Centegra, said many women have inquired about this advanced new technology.

“We encourage women, especially those with dense breasts or who are in the 40 to 55 age range to stop delaying their mammograms,” Griesmaier said. “We are so fortunate to have this evidence-based technology in McHenry County and women should take advantage of it being so close to home.”

Through the Centegra Health System Foundation, the following donors were instrumental in the purchase of the tomosynthesis equipment:

• Breast Cancer Support Hour
• Centegra Hospital-Woodstock Auxiliary
• Firehouse Movements, Inc.
• Fox River Grove PTO
• Illinois Crossroads Council #701/Cadette Troop 40701
• McHenry Country Club Ladies Association
• Nicolinos
• Richmond-Spring Grove Chamber of Commerce Women’s Network

To see a video of tomosynthesis, go to centegra.org/mammo.

Source: Centegra Health System press release