Jul 17, 2008 4:04 pm US/Pacific
New Breast Cancer Test Could Detect Cancer Earlier
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Imagine knowing your risk for getting breast cancer long before there is a lump. Meg Farris shows us a test few people seem to know about, that gives women the earliest sign yet they may be at risk.
Erin Pesquie decided to try a medical test that few people know about. It's a five minute non-invasive procedure that will let her know if she is at high risk for getting breast cancer one day.
"It's pretty innovative to be able to test something like that so far in advance that it makes sense to me. Why not? And it wasn't a bed test at all," says Erin.
The test is called the breast pap test and it's done by a HALO machine that works and feels like a breast pump used by breast feeling mothers to extract milk. It's the only one of its kind in that state.
"This test can pick up and detect abnormalities up to seven years before you might see something on a mammography so you can see potential changes in the ductile cells before you may actually see a mass. And that's what we are looking for is those changes before 95 percent of breast cancers start in the duct," says Dr. Leslie Rodrigue, Internal Medicine specialist at the Center for Longevity and Wellness in Metairie.
Through a warm massaging and suction motion the machine works and pulls any fluid out of the breast. Only half of the women will produce fluid. For those who have none, that are at average-risk for breast cancer. Those who produce fluid with normal cells are also at average risk but those who have fluid with atypical cells are flagged as being at a higher risk for one day developing breast cancer.
The breast pap test isn't meant to take the place of a regular mammogram. But, those who discover that they are at high risk could make their lifestyle changes, such as losing weight or quitting smoking and to decrease their cancer risk.
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