Breast ultrasound machine sought to cut wait times, improve detection

The Barbados Cancer Society is seeking to acquire a $600 000 automated breast ultrasound machine to expand screening capacity, reduce waiting times and improve detection among women with dense breast tissue, as demand for services continues to grow.

As the October 4 Walk for the Cure fundraiser was launched at Sugar Bay Barbados on Thursday, breast screening programme chairperson Dr Shirley Jhagroo said the machine would allow women with dense breasts to have both a mammogram and ultrasound during the same visit while significantly reducing long waiting times.

Barbados Cancer Society Breast Screening Programme Chairperson Dr Shirley Jhagroo (LE)

“We’re seeing increasingly younger women being diagnosed. Two years ago, we had a 28-year-old, which is the youngest we’ve had,” she said.

She added that the clinic had also found that “over 80 per cent of our women have very dense breasts”, making ultrasound an essential companion to mammography.

“Even though a mammogram is still the gold standard and primary screening tool, ultrasound is used as a complementary tool… Together they increase detection rates.”

Dr Jhagroo explained that between 600 and 700 mammograms and about 150 ultrasounds are performed monthly, resulting in an average of “two to three new positive cases every week”, with most cancers detected at stages zero to two.

But limited manpower has created a six-to-eight-week wait for screening ultrasounds, she said.

“This brings us to our project for this year – the addition of another cutting-edge equipment to the clinic, the first in the entire region, an automatic breast ultrasound machine.”

The technology would eliminate the need for a radiologist to be physically present because “the machine automatically scans the breast, after which the images can be forwarded to the radiologist to report remotely”, she said.

According to Jhagroo, discussions have already been held for scans to be reported from Trinidad, allowing results to be returned within 24 hours.

She acknowledged the high cost of the project but remained confident it could be achieved.

“Unfortunately, the cost is about $600 000. But listen, we have bought machines for a million dollars, and we’ve managed it. So we will be able to do this, but, of course, not without you.”

Dr Jhagroo also revealed that the society’s 17-year-old mobile screening unit is expected to be replaced before the end of the year with a new customised British Leyland vehicle, funded through donations and sponsorship.

Looking ahead, she announced that overseas specialists will be in Barbados on October 22 to deliver public and medical lectures on the role of mammograms and ultrasound in the early detection of breast cancer.

(LE)