Breast biopsies are a valuable tool in diagnosing breast caner. An important advancement is the MRI-guided breast biopsy.

Karen Bohl can remember exactly how her journey with breast cancer began. "This was May of 2004, last year. And I was doing my monthly self-exam in the shower and I found the lump."

Karen immediately called her doctor and it was determined that she would need to have a biopsy. After researching her options, Karen chose to have the MRI-guided breast biopsy. "They can pinpoint it, they have a little grid and they go like this and they pinpoint it exactly where you need it to be, it's fabulous."

Radiologist Mary Kay Peterson says this technique is a great advancement in diagnosing breast cancer. "Sometimes the lesion is best visualized on the MRI as opposed to the mammogram or the breast ultrasound. So now, if a woman needs to have an MRI guided biopsy, needle or surgical, and it's her choice along with the surgeon, she can have it done in the area, which is great news."

Karen's lump turned out to be cancerous and she admits her journey with breast cancer hasn't always been easy. "It's a little scary. But it all goes so quickly and it all happens so quickly that you just say, well, whatever happens, happens, as long as I'm alive, I really don't care."

Undergoing an MRI-guided breast biopsy requires only a topical anesthetic, leaves little to no scarring.

Fortunately, 65% to 80% of breast biopsies results are benign, which is a non-cancerous diagnosis.