In my book, Previvors, I include a chapter entitled “A Promising Future.” And under the section about breast cancer screening, I talk about different promising techniques on the horizon. Well, one of the ones I mentioned already came to fruition: The Food and Drug Administration just approved the first three-dimensional mammography system to screen for breast cancer. (It was developed by Hologic.)

So what are 3-D mammograms? Here’s the explanation from my book:

“Whereas a traditional mammogram is a two-dimensional image, this digital technique involves an X-Ray tube that moves around the breasts in an arc and takes pictures of the breast in multiple 1-millimeter layers. Those images are then combined into a three-dimensional series.

One of the advantages of this technique, also known as tomosynthesis, is that it can avoid tissue overlap, which occurs with traditional mammograms. It’s like looking at a loaf of bread in slices rather than the whole loaf at once. If there’s a raisin in the middle of the loaf, you’re more likely to see it if you look at it in slices. Another benefit of this technology is that it can detect very small cancers, particularly in women with dense breasts. Researchers are also examining whether tomosynthesis can possibly involve reduced breast compression, making it less painful for women than traditional mammography.”

In my opinion, the more screening tools we have out there the better!  And it seems like the 3-D mammograms are a step in the right direction.

For more information, click here to read the FDA’s press release about their latest approval.