Hayes Green Beach Memorial Hospital is proud to announce it will offer 3-D mammography screenings beginning in fall 2015.
“Three-dimensional imaging is the most cutting-edge technology available for breast cancer screening,” said Maureen Hillary, R.N., HGB chief nursing officer. “It is 41-percent more accurate at finding invasive cancer than the two-dimensional technology currently offered by most health care organizations.”
HGB will be the first hospital in mid-Michigan to offer the 3-D technology.
“One of the biggest concerns we hear from women regarding annual mammograms is the frustration with false positives,” Hillary said. “When patients are called back for additional imaging because of a suspicious finding, it produces unnecessary anxiety and fear. The improved 3-D imaging reduces false positives by 40 percent, avoiding many unnecessary diagnostic tests.”
Current technology takes the breast, a three-dimensional structure, and reduces it to a two-dimensional image. This process causes the superimposition or overlapping of images, which can create the illusion of masses in breast tissue. Three-dimensional mammography produce clear, concise images that are effectively one-millimeter slices all the way through the breast tissue.
“The 3-D screenings produce better quality results for all patients, especially for women with dense breast tissue,” said Jenny Wren, R.N., HGB director of women’s health services. Dense breast tissue is very common and not abnormal, but it can make it harder to find cancer with only 2-D imaging.
The addition of 3-D mammography at HGB is part of an expansion and transition of women’s health services at the hospital. Mammography and other women’s health screenings, such as bone density, were previously offered at AL!VE, HGB’s health park. The new 3-D mammography unit has been installed in the Breast Care Center on the main hospital campus and all women’s health screenings have moved to that location as of August.
“We are consolidating all women’s health services at the main hospital to improve efficiencies and experiences for our patients,” Wren said. “We know how much women have enjoyed having their appointments in the AL!VE atmosphere and we have replicated that space and experience at HGB.”
The Breast Care Center at HGB is located in the Care Station on the second floor, where the hospital provided obstetrical services in the past.
“We made the very difficult decision to close our OB unit in 2008, with a plan to redeploy hospital resources to provide increased and dedicated women’s health services to our community,” said Matthew Rush, FACHE, HGB president and CEO. “With the addition of the most advanced mammography technology available, we are able to offer a full line of comprehensive women’s health services provided by a dynamic team of medical experts.”
In addition to complete breast care services, HGB also provides obstetrical and gynecological services, expanded urology services, lymphedema therapy, health risk assessments, nurse consultations, educational opportunities and events, women’s-only programming and medical spa services.
With the transition of most of the women’s clinical services to the hospital, the women’s health space at AL!VE will become dedicated to its medical spa. FUSE offers a complete menu of massages and facials, as well as integrative medicine options, such as microdermabrasion. Appointments for FUSE can be made at (517) 541-5886.
To schedule a mammogram appointment at HGB, call (517) 541-5805. While the 3-D unit was installed in August, per FDA requirements the unit must be used for 2-D mammograms until it has successfully gone through an accreditation process that typically takes between six to eight weeks. It is expected that 3-D mammography appointments will be scheduled beginning in September. In the meantime, patients have access to the best available technology for 2-D mammograms.
Article submitted by HGB.
