Las Vegas NowBreast MRI Helps Diagnose Christina Applegate's Breast Cancer

Breast MRI Helps Diagnose Christina Applegate's Breast Cancer

Actress Christina Applegate has been diagnosed with breast cancer. The actress -- who's maybe best known for playing Kelly Bundy on "Married With Children" -- was diagnosed after a regular MRI.

A spokesperson for the 36-year-old is following the recommended treatment and is expected to have a full recovery. Applegate's mother has battled both breast and cervical cancer.

Applegate's age and family history of breast cancer made her a good candidate for the MRI -- as opposed to simply having a mammogram. A local specialist tells Eye on Health why the MRI is not for everyone.

An MRI scan provides detailed images of breast tissue. Is one particular image, the cancer is evident to the trained eye. But in another, it's not as easily defined.

Las Vegas radiologist, David Gorczyca, specializes in breast imaging. He says the MRI is the best choice -- in some cases.

"Younger women typically have very dense breasts, which makes some of the other imaging modalities, such as mammography, more difficult to evaluate. Also MRI's of the breast are also helpful for individuals who have a very strong family history of breast cancer," he said.

But for most women, Gorczyca does not believe the MRI should replace mammography -- as the standard method of early detection.

"It's a very expensive tool. And MRI is not perfect either. It's an additional tool. MRI, a lot of times, does pick up cancer. But sometimes it may miss cancer or pick up very benign lesions that then require intervention or surgery -- which may not be necessary," he said.

Regardless of how it's discovered, when cancer is found in someone as young as Christina Applegate or younger, the patient may have many difficult questions.

And Jane Edelman helps answer them -- as a coordinator for the Breast Center at Sunrise -- and a survivor herself. She's helped women as young as 21 cope with breast cancer.

"Everything flashes in front of them. Some that aren't even married think about will I ever get married? Many of them think, what about my fertility? So there's just a whole different set of issues for these women, and it's very scary for them and very emotional," said Edelman.

Dr. Gorczyca believes regular self exams can also play a role in the early detection of breast cancer. For more on the differences between MRI and mammography, click here.