Patients lie on top of the SoftVue for a 3D ultrasound that can show possible cancers that don't show up on a mammogram.
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Patients lie on top of the SoftVue for a 3D ultrasound that can show possible cancers that don't show up on a mammogram. / GPB News

SouthCoast Health in Savannah is testing a new kind of breast cancer screening. It’s one of eight locations across the country taking part in the clinical trial for a method called SoftVue.A new kind of breast cancer screening is under trial in Savannah.

 

Mammograms work better for some women than others. Sometimes, breast tissue is dense, making cancer tougher to see.

 

That’s SoftVue comes in. takes a three-dimensional ultrasound so doctors get a detailed image of every part of the breast.

 

Radiologist Patricia Shapiro said while it won’t replace mammograms, it could become another tool for doctors.

 

"By putting all of these modalities together we have a better chance of finding a breast cancer,” she said. “And our whole goal is to catch breast cancer when it's Stage Zero or Stage 1 because those are going to be cured."

 

Shapiro said SoftVue has caught cancers that didn't show up on mammograms. But, she said, there are also abnormalities that show up clearly on a mammogram but are harder to see with SoftVue.