HIGH POINT -- Doctors say early detection is the key to surviving breast cancer, so in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, High Point Regional Health System is showcasing its new digital mammography facility.

It’s the latest technology in the fight to diagnose breast cancer. And it's an added relief for the patients too.

Jaime Glover has a history of cancer in her family. That's part of the reason she wanted a mammogram.

"You always hear horror stories about mammograms and how painful they are but this was not a bad experience," Glover said. "I was here for about 15 minutes and the techs were very compassionate and conscious of how I felt and that kind of thing."

And with the new digital mammogram at High Point Regional, she felt now was a good time for her first mammogram.

"We are happy to have two digital rooms here where the images that we take go straight to the computer, much like the old cameras and new digital cameras," Dr. Ray Rubner, a radiologist, said.

And for the patients, there's no difference in the process, except when it comes to time spent -- just 15 minutes.

"[It] has cut the time in half, and in today's fast-paced world, women do not get their mammogram because they just do not take the time to make an appointment," Karen Meadows, High Point Regional’s mammography coordinator, said.

A new case of breast cancer is diagnosed every 2 and a half minutes, and as doctors point out, digital mammography is one of the tools that helps in the very important early detection.

"We are kind of able to see through the background and get to the abnormality more readily than we could with traditional mammography." Dr. Rubner said. "It also allows us to manipulate the image to change the contrast level, which you couldn't do once it's on a film."

And while Glover's results were good, she's not taking any chances with her future.

"It's better to know, and if you do in fact have cancer, it's better to get it treated early than wait," Glover said.

The American Cancer Society says women should get mammograms starting at age 40 and every year after that. Doctors say if you have a family history of cancer or breast cancer, you should talk to your physician, because doing a mammogram earlier could be more beneficial to you.

High Point Regional Health system's equipment was fully funded by proceeds from the endowment fund. To learn more about digital mammography, contact the Women's Imaging Suite at (336)878-6201.