Speeding up breast cancer diagnosis and treatment
We want to people with suspected breast cancer to have a quicker and more accurate diagnosis followed by faster access to treatment. That’s why we’re raising money to enhance the mammography service at Barnet Hospital – using digital technology to identify cancers that standard mammography wouldn’t spot.
Contrast enhanced digital mammography (CEDM) will lead to earlier and faster access to diagnosis and will see patients receiving treatment more quickly, which in turn leads to better clinical outcomes and experience.
How you can help
We need your support to move this project from vision to reality. It will cost £65,000 to bring this innovative breast cancer diagnostic technology to local patients in Barnet Hospital. Your donation could make a life-changing difference by bringing the future forwards for cancer patients.
How it works
An intravenous contrast agent is injected into the breast tissue during the mammogram to enhance detection and characterisation of breast lesions. Where standard full field digital mammography has a pickup rate of around 85.5%, CEDM increases this to 93.8%.
Younger women tend to have dense breast tissue and that can obscure cancers. If we give contrast enhanced mammography to these patients, that cancer will light up in the midst of a dense breast, increasing the likelihood of it being identified and diagnosed.
“The reason why it’s so great is because contrast enhancement mammography helps light up breast cancer. By offering contrast enhanced mammography over MRI we can offer women earlier appointment times and shorten the cancer pathway.”
Dr Besma Musaddaq, consultant breast radiologist, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
The difference you will make
You could help patients receive quicker care which will improve both clinical outcomes (through more accurate diagnosis) and improved experience, particularly for high-risk groups,
The CEDM service reduces the need for MRI scans for the pre-operative management of breast cancer. These scans can be claustrophobic and distressing for patients, while some patients can’t have the scan at all due to other health issues.
Unlike MRI, CEDM can be used during a clinic, meaning there would be no need to schedule an additional appointment. A CEDM procedure takes 8-15 minutes, compared to up to an hour for an MRI scan.
