Breast Cancer Screenings & Diagnostics
Take advantage of a complete array of breast cancer testing services at REX Breast Care Specialists, a division of North Carolina Surgery (formerly REX Surgical Specialists). Whether you have a mammogram or another imaging procedure, you’ll receive thorough care from a team of breast health specialists.
Screenings
Visit our imaging center for routine screenings, such as yearly mammograms, even if you’re healthy and have no signs of breast cancer. If you have breast cancer, screenings help doctors detect it early and treat it easier.
Diagnostic Tests
If you experience symptoms of breast cancer, or a screening finds something unusual, tests such as a breast biopsy can help a doctor determine your diagnosis. If tests find cancer in your breast, we will check to see if the disease has spread to other areas. You’ll get more information about cancer to help guide you through the best decision for treatment.
Breast Imaging & Biopsies
Whether you’re getting a mammogram or another imaging procedure, you can be confident of our high standards for image quality and your safety. Partner with expert North Carolina Surgery breast specialists and benefit from access to the following advanced services.
High-Risk Breast Cancer Screening
Ask us to evaluate you if you think you’re at high risk for breast cancer due to family history or other factors. We’ll work with your primary care provider to plan how often you should receive certain imaging tests, such as mammograms or breast MRI. You may need to be screened earlier and more often than other women.
Ultrasound-Guided Aspiration/Core Biopsy
When a breast ultrasound reveals a suspicious breast abnormality, your physician may choose to perform an ultrasound-guided biopsy. This procedure uses sound waves to help the doctor find a solid lump or fluid-filled cyst. Then, the physician uses a needle to remove a tiny sample to test for cancer. Because this test is minimally invasive, you’ll likely notice almost no scarring.
Benefit from convenient ultrasound-guided biopsies in the same building you receive breast screenings. You’ll appreciate same-day procedures that work with your schedule.
Radioactive Seed Localization
This advanced procedure places a tiny metal marker (seed) in your breast tissue up to five days prior to surgery to mark the exact location of the abnormality. This helps your surgeon to find the affected tissue during surgery and helps spare your healthy tissue. Take advantage of this method at REX Breast Care Specialists, the only practice in the Triangle that offers this more comfortable, precise alternative to wire localization.
Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy
A sentinel lymph node, located near the intersection of your breast and armpit, is the first place where cancer cells are most likely to spread from a primary tumor. During a sentinel lymph node biopsy, your surgeon will identify, remove, and examine the node to determine if cancer cells are present.
Axillary Reverse Mapping to Prevent Lymphedema
If a surgeon needs to remove your lymph nodes as part of breast cancer care, he or she may be able to use axillary reverse mapping to minimize your risk of developing lymphedema. The technique uses dye to show certain lymphatic vessels so a surgeon can avoid them.
Treatment After Cancer Diagnosis
If you’re diagnosed with breast cancer, you may need to decide between having a mastectomy or a lumpectomy to remove your cancer. Count on North Carolina Surgery professionals in Raleigh, Cary or Wakefield to explain both of these options and their advantages and disadvantages.
