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Cancer Care Services
Screenings & Diagnostics
If all Americans followed early detection guidelines for cancer screenings, the five-year relative survival rate could be as high as 95 percent.
See guidelines
St. Anthony’s Cancer Care Center offers a comprehensive range of cancer screenings and laboratory testing to provide early detection of cancerous and precancerous conditions.
Our state-of-the-art diagnostic technology offers physicians a fast and accurate diagnosis of cancer and includes:
- PET scanning for early detection, staging, treatment planning and ongoing evaluation of treatment
- MRI and CT scanning
- Ultrasound
- Mammography, including computer aided detection system for reviewing digital and film mammograms
- Stereotactic breast biopsy and ATEC® vacuum-assisted breast biopsy device to aid in stereotactic-, ultrasound- and MRI-guided biopsies
- Sentinel node biopsy
Definitions
ATEC® vacuum-assisted breast biopsy device: The ATEC® vacuum-assisted breast biopsy device by Suros Surgical Systems, Inc. offers patients a quick, minimally invasive breast biopsy that can be used for stereotactic X-ray, ultrasound or MRI-guided biopsies. It provides a more representative sample of tissue collected from the area of concern, with less disturbance of the surrounding tissue.
Computer Aided Detection: The state-of-the-art Computer Aided Detection (CAD) system reviews both digital and film mammograms and marks suspicious areas for the radiologists to take a second look, helping physicians make more informed decisions about whether a patient needs to return for further testing.
Mammogram: The Breast Center offers both traditional mammograms, where X-rays pass through the breast to film, and digital mammograms, where X-rays pass through the breast to a digital detector plate and are transferred to a computer screen. The digital images can be magnified for a clearer view of problem areas, eliminating many call-backs.
PET/CT combines the technology of PET and Computed Tomography to provide the physiological information from PET superimposed onto high resolution CT. This helps radiation oncologists to better target tumors and to protect healthy tissue in radiation therapy treatments.
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scanning Center: The Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scanning Center provides technology that allows for earlier detection and staging of cancer, radiation treatment planning and cancer re-occurrence monitoring evaluation. PET visualizes the physical and chemical processes within the body and detects abnormalities before structural damage is evident. PET scans are taken of nearly the full body, which provides a comprehensive study.
Sentinel node biopsy: Sentinel node biopsy provides a less invasive way to determine if breast cancer cells have spread to the lymph nodes, with fewer side effects than standard lymph node removal. In the standard lymph node removal, a surgeon removes a pad of fat from the armpit, which a pathologist examines to determine if the nodes contain any cancer cells. In sentinel lymph node removal, a surgeon injects a blue dye, a radioactive substance, or both into the area around the tumor. The dye follows the path that tumor cells would most likely take from the tumor area to the lymph nodes. The surgeon then removes just the one lymph node that absorbs the dye – the “sentinel” node. Nodes near the sentinel node may also be removed. If a pathologist finds cancer cells in these lymph nodes, a standard lymph node biopsy may be performed. If there are no cancer cells, no more nodes are removed.
Stereotactic breast biopsy: Stereotactic breast biopsy is an outpatient procedure in which the patient lies on her stomach, with her breast placed through an opening in the table. The breast is lightly compressed and X-rayed from two angles to determine the location to be biopsied. After injecting a local anesthetic, the radiologist inserts a small probe into the breast, removing a sample of breast tissue to determine if cancer is present.
Ultrasound: Ultrasound, a sound wave imaging technique, is available to further evaluate a breast lump or other abnormality seen on a mammogram. If needed, ultrasound breast biopsies using local anesthetic can be provided the same day as the exam.
For information or a physician referral, please call 800-554-9550 or visit our online physician referral.
At St. Anthony's, our vision is to be the area's premier health care organization — and your first choice for health care services.