Bilateral MRI of the breast is available in our Anchorage location. 
Providence Imaging Center is proud to be the only accredited breast magnetic resonance imaging facility in all of Alaska, as of August 2011. MRI of the breast is not a replacement for mammography or ultrasound imaging but rather is a supplemental tool for detecting and staging breast cancer and other breast abnormalities.
MRI is used to:
- evaluate abnormalities detected by mammography.
- identify early breast cancer not detected through other means, especially in women at high risk for breast cancer who have been evaluated by a genetic counselor
- determine the integrity of breast implants.
- assess multiple tumor locations.
- look for multiple tumors prior to breast conservation surgery.
- determine how much cancer has spread beyond the surgical site after a breast biopsy or lumpectomy.
- provide additional information on a diseased breast to make treatment decisions.
By comparing breast images taken before and after contrast material injection, an MRI exam can determine:
- if there are breast abnormalities.
- whether an abnormality looks benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous).
- the size and location of any abnormality that looks malignant.
- the presence of enlarged lymph nodes.
MRI of the breast is not appropriate for all women. If you have questions, please contact the PIC nurse at 212-3607.
Clinicians: our Request for Special Breast Procedures order form is now available as a PDF (213 KB).