Mar 20, 2017 1 min read

Canonsburg Hospital is among three additional Allegheny Health Network locations to add 3-D mammography, one of the most advanced techniques for detecting breast cancer at its earliest, most curable stages.

The others are Allegheny Valley Hospital and Premier Women’s Health Diagnostic Imaging of Sewickley.

While traditional mammography captures a single image of the breast, tomosynthesis, also known as 3-D mammography, takes multiple images in “slices” that allow doctors to see internal breast tissue in sharp detail, minimizing false-positive and false-negative readings. Breast tomosynthesis can be particularly helpful for women who have dense breast tissue, or women who are at high risk of developing breast cancer.

In October 2015, Pennsylvania began requiring all insurers to pay for 3-D mammography, making the technology more readily available to women. It is used in addition to traditional mammography, and uses an amount of radiation well below federal guidelines.

For more information, call Canonsburg Hospital outpatient services at 724-745-3904.