Our special week long cancer series continues, tonight we head to SwedishAmerican Hospital where 23 News Reporter Natalie Kaplan gets an inside look at a new piece of biopsy technology, a device the hospital says is the latest tool in the fight against breast cancer.

13 years ago Eileen Oksnevad was diagnosed with a condition that put her at a higher risk for developing cancer later on in life since then she's done all she can to be pro-active about battling the disease, that includes coming to SwedishAmerican Hospital for an MRI guided breast biopsy. That's when a piece of tissue's obtained from a body part, then analyzed to see if it's cancerous.

Eileen says "There were so many people that cared about my experience and were asking are you comfortable, do you feel OK?

But the procedure has a lot more to offer than great hospitality. The MRI biopsy can find the smallest breast abnormality at the earliest stage of development. Plus, it's a non surgical option that doesn't leave scarring.

A radiologist at SwedishAmerican says, "Now some of the lesions that weren't easily detected by conventional mechanisms are now seen and we can actually biopsy that lesion relatively easily and it gives the patient and us a piece of mind that we're doing the right thing for the patient."

Another improvement, the technology uses an advanced grid system to pin point the exact legion radiologists are focusing on "The computer can help us localize it in space, in multiple plains so that we know when we place a marker in an area we're headed right towards the lesion."

Doctors say early detection is key in treating breast cancer, that's why Eileen makes sure to keep up on her fight against the disease and hopes all women will do the same.

"Just encourage women to really take care of their bodies and be willing to do the things their doctor recommends but also be proactive about reading and researching information."

Tomorrow, Natalie will sit down with doctors at OSF St. Anthony to learn about a radio surgery procedure, the first of its kind in the area that helps doctors treat brain cancer more efficiently and more quickly.

That's Thursday at 5pm and a reminder, CBS's cancer fundraiser airs Friday night, starting at seven pm, here on Channel 23.