Claxton-Hepburn

4 The only multidisciplinary breast cancer clinic in the region, the Breast Health Center at the Connection for Women offers quality services from your first screening mammogram onward. Cancer Care from Start to Finish 4 The Breast Health Center at the Connection for Women at Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center has been open since 2012. The Breast Health Center helped 40 newly diagnosed patients in 2013 and saw 20 newly diagnosed patients during the first half of 2014. In 2013, it took an average of 2.67 days for complete pathology results after a breast biopsy—a time decrease of 56 percent since 2010. In 2012 and 2013, 90 percent of breast cancer patients were diagnosed with an early-stage breast cancer, making the disease easier to treat. Breast Health By the Numbers We take your health personally. L I V I N G W E L L About one in eight women will develop invasive breast cancer during the course of her lifetime. Comprehensive care for every step of breast health is available locally at Claxton- Hepburn Medical Center. EARLY DETECTION MATTERS The American Cancer Society recommends a yearly mammogram starting at age 40 for all healthy women. Some women may need additional imaging tests or more frequent or earlier mammograms due to an increased risk of breast cancer. No matter what your needs, the Breast Health Center has everything necessary to detect the earliest stages of cancer, including: Screening and diagnostic digital mammography Computer-aided detection technology for mammograms 3-D mammography, which allows for earlier and more accurate diagnosis Breast ultrasounds Breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) Minimally invasive core biopsies and surgical biopsies, if needed. "The earlier you detect cancer, the better treatment options and survival rates are," says Debbie King, CRA, RT(R)(M), director of radi- ology at Claxton-Hepburn. "Our Center is accredited by the American College of Radiology as a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence. This means that all the procedures performed in our Center have met the high quality standards set by the accreditation process." WHEN YOU NEED US When you have been diagnosed with breast cancer, a patient navigator will contact you. "The role of the patient navigator is to follow and guide patients every step of the way," says Kay Zimmer, LMSW, CBPN-C, oncology social worker/certi ed breast patient navigator. "We help patients and their families cope with the diagnosis and answer any nancial or insurance concerns they have throughout treatment and survivorship." Zimmer also will make an appointment in the multidisciplinary breast clinic for you and your family so you can meet with the surgeon, radiation oncologist, and the medical oncologist all together to discuss your treatment options and make decisions. Claxton-Hepburn continues to provide the best quality care with the newest technologies, and that is why it has purchased breast tomosynthesis technology, which will be available for patient use later this fall. To learn more about the Breast Health Center, visit www.claxtonhepburn.org/breasthealth.

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