Diagnostic services
In Australia about 350,000 women visit their doctor each year with a breast change. In more than 95% of cases, this will not be breast cancer. However women should have any changes in their breasts checked as soon as possible by a doctor; if a change is due to a breast cancer, the earlier it is detected, the better the chance of successful treatment.
Click here for further information about breast changes
It is recommended breast changes be investigated using an approach known as the triple test. However it should be noted that many women with breast changes will not need all of these tests.
The triple test includes:
- Clinical breast examination and taking a personal history
- Imaging test ie mammography and/or ultrasound
- Non-surgical biopsy ie a fine needle aspiration and/or core biopsy.
Additional diagnostic technologies may be used to assess the extent of disease in women who have a diagnosis of breast cancer – these include:
- MRI
- Nuclear medicine
- Computerised tomography (CT)
- Positron emission tomography (PET)
The Directory provides information on whether the following diagnostic services are available on site at each hospital. Brief explanations of these services are listed below:
Clinical Assessment: |
Examination of the breasts by a doctor |
|---|---|
Mammography |
A soft tissue x-ray of the breast which may be used to evaluate a lump or which may be used as a screening test in women with no signs or symptoms of breast cancer |
Ultrasound |
The use of sound waves to form a picture of internal tissues |
Fine needle aspiration biopsy |
The sampling of cells from breast tissue for examination by a pathologist. |
Core biopsy |
The sampling of breast tissue with a needle to give a tiny cylinder of tissue for examination by a pathologist |
Stereotaxis |
A biopsy procedure that uses a computer and a three-dimensional scanning device to find a tumor site and guide the removal of tissue for examination under a microscope |
Breast MRI |
A procedure in which a magnet linked to a computer is used to create detailed pictures of areas inside the body. Also called nuclear magnetic resonance imaging. |
Nuclear medicine |
A method of diagnostic imaging that uses very small amounts of radioactive material. The patient is injected with a liquid that contains the radioactive substance, which collects in the part of the body to be imaged. Sophisticated instruments detect the radioactive substance in the body and process that information into an image |
CT |
A series of detailed pictures of areas inside the body, taken from different angles; the pictures are created by a computer linked to an x-ray machine. Also called computerized axial tomography, computed tomography (CT scan), or computerized tomography. |
PET |
Positron emission tomography scan. A computerized image of the metabolic activity of body tissues used to determine the presence of disease |