Education For Healthy Life

An MRI uses magnetic fields, not x-rays, to produce detailed images of the body. A contrast medium (a special dye) may be injected into a patient’s vein to create a clearer picture.

An MRI may be used once a woman has been diagnosed with cancer to check the other breast for cancer, but the benefit of this is questionable. It may also be used for screening. According to the American Cancer Society, women at high risk for breast cancer (for example, women with BRCA gene mutations or a strong family history of breast cancer) should receive MRI screening along with a mammogram.

MRI is often better than mammography and ultrasound at finding a small mass in a woman’s breast, especially for women with very dense breast tissue. However, an MRI has the risk of having a higher rate of false-positive test results (a test result that indicates cancer when there is no cancer present) and may result in more biopsies and other tests. In addition, an MRI does not show calcifications, which could indicate in situ breast cancer (DCIS). Talk with your doctor for more information.