PROJECT OVERVIEW:
- CLIENT: American College of Radiology
- PUBLICATION: Imaging 3.0
- PROJECT: Case Study
- INDUSTRY: Medical / Radiology
- FEATURING:
- Kristin A. Robinson, MD, (pictured at left) who developed a Dense Breast Consultation Clinic during her breast imaging fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona
- Victor J. Pizzitola, MD, MPH, division chair of breast imaging at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona
- Jewel Kling, MD, MPH, NCMP, associate professor of medicine and associate chair for research in women’s health internal medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona
- READ IT: Providing Clarity on Breast Density
Half of all women have dense breast tissue, which can mask tumors on a mammogram and increase the risk of developing breast cancer. Recognizing these factors, legislators recently approved a federal mandate that requires healthcare providers to notify patients if their mammography results indicate that they have dense breast tissue.
To explain breast density to patients, Mayo Clinic in Arizona opened a dense breast consultation clinic in February of 2019. The program helps women understand the correlation between dense breast tissue and increased cancer risk, while explaining supplemental screening options that may provide clarity beyond traditional mammograms.
As part of the ACR Imaging 3.0 Initiative, this case study details how radiologists established the consultation clinic and how it’s empowering women to make more informed breast imaging decisions.
