'Virtual breast' aims to improve cancer detection rate

October brings breast cancer awareness to the spotlight as the importance of proper screening and early detection is emphasized. Unfortunately, one of the most common tests, aside from regular self-examinations by women, is imperfect, uncomfortable, and many have doubted the need for women to get annual mammograms since statistically, they do not offer much in early detection.

A new kind of test, called ultrasound elastography, offers a better choice and can better diagnose cancer in a suspicious mammogram. The test is able to image the tissues in the body and differentiate the stiff tissues of tumors and cancer as clearly as the difference between an egg yolk and the white.