CEO Update: 3D mammography at CMH

CEO Update
• 25 March 2025

In recent months, we’ve been highlighting our hospital expansion. We are excited about the expansion, but we’re also continuing investments in technology in other areas of the hospital. In this CEO Update, we’re highlighting our recent upgrade to 3D mammography and some of the great things that we’re doing in technology to take care of our patients, especially in preventative care and medicine.

Dr. Jana Horner is a radiologist here at CMH. She’s been with us for over 12 years and is a Bolivar native. She will share what we can offer at the CMH Breast Center and tell us about the new technology we have available for our patients.

Continue reading the blog post or watch the video to learn more about:

• Benefits of 3D mammography
• Importance of screening mammograms
• Quick follow-up care

Benefits of 3D mammography

Horner: I’m super excited that we now have 3D mammography or, technically, tomosynthesis. The scan takes a little bit longer, but we get some additional information, which can be helpful for our patients with very dense breast tissue. It’s an additional tool in our mammogram toolbox to help us know if we need to have people come back for an extra look to see if something is going on or if we can let them go another year and have them come back for an additional screening mammogram.

Breast cancer shows up as a white nodule most of the time. If you have a white nodule in a sea of white tissue, it might be tricky to find. With the 3D views, I can scroll through the pictures taken at multiple spots along the breast, and I can look into that dense tissue and see through it. The computer stacks the images, one on top of the next, so you can look at them in a big stack instead of looking at one picture after the next.

Calhoun: It’s my understanding this is the very latest technology that’s available in the health care market.

Horner: Yes, and our Siemens equipment is really excellent. The scans are quick, and our techs are super good. They get me really good images and try to make it as comfortable as possible.

Initially, when they brought out tomosynthesis, the radiation dose was quite a bit higher because we have to take more images. But the software algorithm reconstructions are so good now that there’s minimal extra radiation, even for the extra pictures. The radiation addition with the 3D mammogram is now negligible.

Importance of screening mammograms

Calhoun: Of the 6,000 mammograms that we did this last year, 5,500 were for screening mammograms to provide early detection of cancer. Why is it so important to get a screening mammogram?

Horner: The goal is to find a breast cancer that’s too small for a patient to be able to feel. It’s small enough that clinically you can’t find it any other way. We know that the smaller it is, the more likely you will be completely cured.

If you wait and don’t get a screening and develop breast cancer you can feel, it’s going to be larger. It may still be completely curable, but it may have had time to grow and start to move into your lymph nodes or elsewhere.

Breast cancer is very common, and it’s now about 1 in 8 women who are affected. It’s a big deal for people to come and be screened. We want you to come every year starting at age 40, unless you have a history of breast cancer in your family. And if you do, with relatives that were diagnosed young, you may need to come sooner than that. The screening exam just means that you don’t have any breast problems.

Quick follow-up care

Calhoun: We have great coordination of care at CMH. I hear that from our patients all the time. When you’re going through a potential cancer diagnosis, it’s filled with anxiety and a lot of uncertainty. Getting the care you need quickly is really important, and you all do a great job with that.

Horner: We try hard to do that because we know how much stress is involved, and we want people to get answers to their questions as quickly as possible. If they need a biopsy, typically we can do it that same day while they’re here. We want to get treatment going as quickly as possible if they need treatment. Most people with breast cancer do really well, and we want to reassure them and get them started so that they can get it behind them really quickly. That’s something that is very rare and super special about this place.

High-quality care

Calhoun: At CMH, it’s our vision to provide the safest care for our patients, the highest quality care for our patients and the best patient experience. The CMH Radiology Department, including the Breast Center, is a great example. We have expert physicians, we have the latest technology and we have phenomenal technicians and staff that will take great care of you.

If you come to CMH for your mammogram, you will be well taken care of by the best physicians and the latest technology and equipment. We’re just so proud of what you all do here every day. You make a difference in people’s lives. You save lives here.

Horner: We’re just very blessed to be here and to be able to take care of our neighbors.

To schedule a screening mammogram, call the CMH Breast Care Center at 417-326-7860 or schedule online through the CMH Patient Portal.

Michael Calhoun shares the latest happenings at CMH in his monthly CEO Updates. He is the CEO/executive director of CMH and the Citizens Memorial Health Care Foundation.