Skip to site content

Radiology & Imaging

Menu
Radiology & Imaging Menu

Breast MRI

Looking for a place where today’s women can get service they want, the technology they need, the compassion they crave, and most importantly, have all of this in a convenient location close to home?  The Women’s Diagnostic Center at Maria Parham is just the place today’s women are looking for when they need their annual mammogram or other diagnostic procedures.  Maria Parham is very pleased to offer Breast MRI as a service to women.

Utilizing Digital 3D Mammography and Ultrasound, the Women’s Diagnostic Center can meet the needs of most women seeking their annual mammogram.  Breast MRI provides the latest in advanced technology, helping give your doctor the information that may lead to more accurate answers. Maria Parham partners with Wake Radiology.  Wake Radiology provides physicians who specialize in different imaging modalities including Breast MRI.

Maria Parham utilizes the GE Healthcare MR system, characterized by excellent image quality and comfort due to ergonomic design. This MRI machine also features a wide-bore opening to reduce that “closed-in” feeling.

What is a breast MRI?

Breast MRI is the sophisticated imaging available for the breast, and increasingly important in the fight against breast cancer.  Promising new evidence shows that for women with increased risk, breast MRI can potentially decrease mortality by detecting cancers that would otherwise be completely invisible or undetectable by mammograms, ultrasounds, or clinical examination.

Who should consider having a Breast MRI?

The American Cancer Society recommends an annual Breast MRI, in addition to a mammogram, starting at age 30 for women who have any of the following conditions:

  • A BRCA 1 or 2 gene mutation.  
  • A first-degree parent, sibling, or child with a BRCA 1 or 2 gene mutations (even if the patient is untested).   
  • A greater than 20% calculated lifetime risk of developing breast cancer (the US average is 12-13% using the modified Gail Model for calculation).   
  • The TP53 of PTEN gene mutation.   
  • Had radiation to the chest between the ages of 10 and 30.   
  • Themselves, or a first degree relative has a rare genetic syndrome such as Li-Fraumeni, Cowden, or Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba.

 

Why choose Breast MRI?

While mammography is the gold standard to which all breast imaging is compared, it does not have the power that is available with MRI.  While the majority of mammographic abnormalities requiring biopsy are benign, the majority of MRI-detected abnormalities requiring biopsy are malignant.

For more information about Breast MRI, please call 252-436-1730.

Helpful Links

RadiologyInfo
(general definitions and explanations of radiological procedures)   

Cancer.gov
A resource for Breast Cancer Screening