ABC News’ Amy Robach’s Mammogram: Much More than Public Service

 It was supposed to be a routine Good Morning America segment for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Amy Robach, the ABC News journalist, who had never had a mammogram, reluctantly agreed after some prodding by colleagues, to have one. But it was not to be the sort of private affair that other women share with their physician. Instead, she had been asked to perform the first live television mammogram. 

In a taped piece before the procedure, she said she’d agreed to the unusual public demonstration because, “If I’ve put it off, how many other people have put it off as well?” Still, as Robach explained to viewers, she had little reason to expect anything but a clean bill of health.

By delaying her mammogram until now, she knew she had been taking a risk, but was not overly concerned. Like many women, she calculated that her risk was low. Her work and family schedule was more hectic than most and –taking everything into account -- the test could wait. “I work out, I eat right, I take care of myself and I have very little family history; in fact all of my grandparents are still alive.”
 

But she yielded to arguments from her producers and was persuaded to undergo the procedure on national TV on October 1st because, she told her audience, “If even one life is saved through early detection, it’s all worth it.” She didn’t dream that the person whose life may have been saved through early detection would be her own.

After several subsequent tests a few weeks later, she was given a diagnosis of breast cancer. In November, she received a bilateral mastectomy and reconstructive surgery, and is currently recovering. Ms. Robach’s experience is a powerful argument for early detection. The oddsmaker in every woman’s mind will want to take the journalist’s lesson to heart.
 

Zwanger-Pesiri Radiology is the leading breast imaging facility in Long Island, featuring 3D mammography, a new groundbreaking technology that generates 3D images of the breast and gives physicians a clearer look through overlapping breast tissue. Studies have demonstrated that 3D mammography is far superior to conventional mammography in detecting cancer and lowering the risk of false-positives. ZPR is the only radiology practice using all Hologic 3D machines -- the gold standard in 3D mammography -- not just in a few locations, but in every location.  
 

Recent Zwanger-Pesiri articles on mammography:

·      Women in Their 40s Still Want Breast Cancer Screening

·      Adding 3D Tomography to Mammography Aids in Cancer Detection, Reduces False-Positives 

·      Earlier Mammograms Urged for African American Women

·      What is 3D Mammography?
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      ZPR also offers digital mammography, breast ultrasound, breast MRI and breast biopies in a caring and compassionate environment.