Blog on a Blog!
The New York Times recent (April 10th) article, "
In Shift to Digital, More Repeat Mammograms," again looked at those who have made the transition from analog to digital mammography--and what they're experiencing; namely, improved image quality--seeing more than the analog image and the results of calling the patient back for additional views. The basis for the article is the questionable "callback rate" radiologists are confronting. Where some feel it's not a problem, other radiologists don't want to bother with the struggle of the transition and the anxiety of calling the patient back.
The article continues with the experience of a patient, who also happens to be a mammographer working with digital technology in her breast center. She describes her anxiety and thoughts of what her family would have to endure.
What brought me to blog about this article, were the comments/blog posts on the site itself. Oh my goodness ...what are we doing? The entries were from a mixed audience, but the ones that disturbed me the most were from the mammographers! Patients' comments about what technologists are doing and what they perceive about the procedure were also quite disturbing.
The mammographer that commented was uneducated about digital technology and radiation exposure, nor did she have respect for the interpreting radiologist. These grabbed my attention: "each time a woman has a repeat study, she is exposed to additional radiation," and "if the radiologist that you are going to has to call back patients for his learning curve go to another facility--this excuse is inexcusable--either they are qualified to read your films or study or they are not."
This is so disturbing to read from a radiologic technologist and dedicated mammographer. How can she make these comments about the "extra radiation" dose? We all know that radiation exposure exists but now with digital, there is a dose reduction. She needs to talk with her physicist. And even more upsetting is the comment about the radiologists. We all hear about respect for each other, although it seems she is lacking it. To say that it's inexcusable for the radiologist to call back a patient translates to a lack of mammography knowledge in general--not only digital but also analog.
To state it simply, we all know that the mammogram cannot be its best unless the positioning is the best; and where does that come from....? The mammographer! Radiologists rely on our expertise. I could continue, but it all comes back to my very first blog post about educating our staff of mammographers on digital so they can, in turn, educate and care for the patients. For the radiologists who are reading this, I acknowledge and respect your dedication to mammography and I (we) want to work together as a team. Otherwise, we'll continue to see this mass confusion on the transition. We need to carry the message of truth: Awareness of breast cancer detection-- and the mammogram-- is our best screening tool to save lives!