New RGH mammography machine offers comfortable exam, clearer image

Christa Prewitt no longer fears her annual mammogram appointments. She described her experience with past mammograms as painful.

Alisa Boswell: Portales News-Tribune

Roosevelt General Hospital mammography technologists Charla Evans, left, and Karen Williams place a pad Wednesday on the hospital's new digital mammography machine. The new technology provides a pad that is softer and more comfortable for patients.

The discomfort associated with older mammogram technology didn't stop her from being consistent with her yearly appointments, but now that Roosevelt General Hospital is using digital mammography, Prewitt says her fears of pain are at ease.

Prewitt was the second patient to receive a mammogram using the new technology in September.

"Oh my God, I can't believe how much nicer it was," said Prewitt about an experience she once dreaded.

The 66-year-old widow has been receiving mammograms yearly since she was 40.

She described the older mammography machine as cold and uncomfortable.

Mammography, the process of using x-rays to examine the human breast, is believed by many in the health field to reduce deaths from breast cancer through early detection.

RGH now provides the latest in mammography and the new MammoPad creates a softer, warmer mammogram, according to Amber Hamilton, director of marketing and public relations at RGH.

The advantages of the new technology goes beyond the comfort of patients. The x-rays of the exam go directly to a computer and the technology provides sharper images than previous.

"Oh man, what a difference, the picture is so much clearer," Prewitt said. "I don't know how doctors read it before. I saw pictures from my last mammogram and the new images were so much clearer."

Charla Evans, RGH mammography technologist, says the new technology also reduces the time the patient spends in their department because the process is a lot faster and Prewitt agrees.

"You can see (the x-rays) right away, you don't have to sit there and wait," Prewitt said. "You always had to wait for them to develop the pictures. If it didn't look right, you'd have to do it again."

The new technology uses digital signals to create the mammogram, according to Evans.

"The sensitivity is greater with the soft tissue, you can see a lot more with the new technology," said Shad Wooldridge, director of medical imaging at RGH.

The clear mammogram images can help better detect any cancers in a patient than with the previous technology, according to Evans.

"They can see everything on a high quality monitor and get a better reading," Evans said. The American Cancer Society recommends women begin having mammograms at age 40 and yearly after that, but Evans said women are usually afraid of the exam because of horror stories they have heard from other women.

RGH officials feel it's imperative that women be screened for breast cancer yearly.

The stage at which breast cancer is detected influnces a woman's survival and if detected early, the five-year survival rate is 97 percent, according to RGH officials.

Evans said that women such as Prewitt that have had a good experience with new technology are spreading the word.

She said she's seen patients who haven't had a mammogram in two or three years set up appointments because they had heard about the comfort of the new technology.

"It's a state of the art service that we provide to our community," Evans said.