New treatment spots breast cancer sooner, improving treatment chances.

It’s been nearly a year since Jupiter Medical Center started using a new tool to detect breast cancer. The procedure is known as Contrast-Enhanced Mammography or CEM.
Doctors at Jupiter Medical Center are using CEM in addition to mammograms, and it gives them the ability to catch breast cancer even sooner.
CEM is essentially a dye given to patients through an IV shortly before their scheduled mammograms. Dr. Orna Hadar tells CBS12 News it’s the same type of dye used in CAT scans.
The process is quick, and within 10 minutes, patients can get their results.
"The way it works and why the dye is sensitive... is breast cancer or cancers usually increase blood flow to them," she told CBS12 News. "So there are more blood vessels going to breast cancer, in addition to that the actual vessels to the breast cancer [there] are abnormal vessels... they are what we call leaky vessels. So not only does the dye go to the breast cancer, the dye actually leaks out through the vessel, so we are able to see the breast cancer earlier because they take up the dye."
Dr. Hadar shared the experience of a newly diagnosed cancer patient. She tells CBS12 News the high contrast enhancement was able to spot cancer growing in the patient's other breast, ultimately CEM helped doctors catch it sooner in both the patients breasts.
Dr. Hadar says this gives the patient a better chance to treat and beat the cancer.
The CDC recommends women get breast cancer exams starting at 40. But if you have a history of breast cancer or are at a higher risk, Dr. Hadar recommends you start getting them as early as 30. The best way to begin this process is to talk to your primary doctor.