KTKA

"A mammogram and a physical exam is what everyone bases screening for breast cancer around," Lawrence surgeon Dr. Jim Smith said.

But over the last decade, there's been a number of strides in the use of sonograms in detecting breast cancer.

"As the technology of the computers gets better, we're able to see leaps and bounds more than we were even five years ago," ultrasonographer Sue Hobart said.

"You can clearly tell there's something different there," Smith said.

Ultrasounds are basically high frequency sound waves. Doctors use a probe to view a two-dimensional image of the breast tissue. And the machine is often able to tell surgeons things that a mammogram alone can't.

"One of the major benefits of ultrasound is there are a lot of women who have a lump and an ultrasound will tell you if it's likely to be benign or if it's cause for concern. So for a lot of women it's the ultrasound that may put them at ease," Smith said.

"These are both cysts."

Sonograms can also be useful on women under the age of 35. Radiologists have a difficult time in performing mammograms on younger women because of the make-up of their breast tissue. But doctors stress that ultrasounds should not be used in place of a mammogram.

"Utrasound is a directed test. By itself, it has weaknesses. We can still miss things. It's very good in conjunction with mammography," Hobart said.

"There's not a clear edge to it."

"The ultrasound is basically just another tool to go along with mammogram and the physical exam, but it's a very useful one," Smith said.

Watch Tuesday's Friend 2 Friend report here.