Uninsured Women Can Access

Reduced Fee Digital Mammography

SOUTHBURY — Housatonic Valley Radiological Associates (HVRA), based in Danbury, has announced its Southbury Imaging satellite office, home of the Breast Imaging Center of Southbury, now offers the latest in digital mammography technology. Located at 800 Main Street South, HVRA’s Southbury Imaging has provided mammography services to area residents for 18 years.

Dr Conrad Ehrlich, HVRA medical director, said, “Our one goal is to save lives. So we are very proud and excited to provide the most advanced screening technology available for identifying breast cancers early, when they are most treatable. We are very pleased to offer such state-of-the-art capabilities to area women.”

During October, the American Cancer Society’s designated National Breast Cancer Awareness month, HVRA will offer noninsured women in Southbury a digital mammography exam for $125. This service is being offered by HVRA in alignment with its notable ongoing commitment to people in the towns where their services are offered.

“We are offering this reduced fee,” explained Dr. Ehrlich, “as a continuation of our commitment to give back to all the people in our communities.”

Since 2003, Dr Ehrlich and the HVRA staff had dedicated many hours to the charitable works of Kevin’s Community Center (KCC), a United Way-affiliated free medical clinic in Newtown that provides medical care to uninsured residents.

The American Cancer Society reports that breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women between the ages of 15 and 54, and the second cause of cancer death in women 55 to 74. In Connecticut, 552 women died from breast cancer in 2004.

Fortunately, 96 percent of women who are found to have breast cancer, and are treated early, will be cancer-free after five years. A breast exam by a doctor and a mammogram should be part of a health exam every year for women 40 and above, and for 35 year old women with a family history of breast cancer.

“Screening mammography is still recognized as the most effective tool available for the early detection of breast cancer,” Dr Erlich said. “The advances of digital mammography allow us to screen more effectively and efficiently while we continue to provide the highest level of personal care. From a woman’s perspective, the digital procedure is the same as for a conventional film mammogram. Good compression is still critical. An important difference is that problem areas, such as dense breast tissue, can be better viewed.”

Digital mammography uses advanced detection technologies and computers instead of film. A recent clinical study of more than 42,000 women found this digital methodology better than film-screen mammography for detecting breast cancer in three specific groups: women under 50, pre- and perimenopausal women, and women with dense breasts.

Digital mammograms are 15 percent more accurate among women under age 50 or who are not yet in menopause, and 11 percent more accurate for women with dense breasts.

Known as the Breast Imaging Center since 1990, HVRA’s Southbury Imaging features a mammography suite designed for a woman’s comfort with services being offered in an unhurried, comfortable private office setting. To complement its digital mammography program, the center also offers ultrasound, an imaging procedure that is often used to further identify a problem found in a previous mammogram.

HVRA’s Southbury Imaging also offers high field MRI, walk-in x-ray and DEXA bone densitometry that is used in the detection of osteoporosis. Following the patient’s diagnostic test, the resulting images are available immediately to a patient’s doctor via HVRA’s secure Internet website, with a full radiological report available to the doctor within 24 hours.

The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) requires that a licensed radiologist read only 480 mammograms per year to be accredited. During the past 20 years, Dr. Ehrlich has read more than 10,000 mammograms annually.

“The FDA has approved our advanced digital mammography program, which is also accredited by the American College of Radiology,” he said. The advanced technology uses Fuji’s Computed Radiography for Mammography (FCRm) system that was developed by FujiFilm Medical Systems USA, Inc.

“The benefits of Fuji’s digital mammography allow us to do our jobs more effectively and efficiently while we provide the highest level of care for our breast imaging patients,” said Dr Ehrlich. HVRA also offers Second Look Computer Aided Detection to redundantly review all breast images.

Complementing HVRA’s Southbury Imaging services, the HVRA Danbury office offers diagnostic capabilities that include breast MRI, and minimally invasive procedures such as MRI-guided and ultrasound-guided breast biopsy as well as stereotactic biopsy. All of these services can often be scheduled within a few days after an initial exam.

To learn more, visit www.HVradiology.net, or call HVRA’s Danbury office at 797-1770 or 262-6797 in Southbury.